


Rogue AU

by Berserkersarecool



Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fights, Trauma, Yangst, rogue au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2020-11-01 03:13:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 48
Words: 240,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20807753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Berserkersarecool/pseuds/Berserkersarecool
Summary: It's been 2 years since the Vytal Festival "Incident" and Yang Xiao long has become a much different woman; a criminal. She has evaded capture for years but now a chance meeting will bring her back into contact with her old team. [rated M for some violent imagery and sexual references, blood and boobs]





	1. An old friend in a new city

RWBY Rogue AU

**Chapter 1 an old friend in a new city**

**It’s been two years**

Vacuo is a kingdom unlike any other. The Grimm-masked woman would know, she'd seen all four kingdoms in the past 2 years. It was a city built on an oasis in the middle of a desert, filled with people grateful to finally escape the burning heat. She had walked through the desert for about a month before she arrived in Vacuo proper, it was agonizing but the Grimm-masked woman was no stranger to suffering for her work. Her grim work.

Now that she was within the shade of the kingdom all that pain just seemed to vanish away. The Vacuoian streets were bustling yet open; people of every culture and creed, human and Faunus were everywhere in Vacuo. As the Grim-masked woman's eyes traveled across the crowd they were assaulted by vibrant colors of every shade and intensity worn by the citizens of Vacuo.

_Very different from dull atlas and with fewer Atlesian military_

The Grimm-masked woman wore a sleeveless black shirt and matching black pants. She had a loose white kimono hanging around her shoulders hiding a scar on her right shoulder, it was covered with red markings similar to those that appear on grim bone-plates. A yellow belt held the kimono tight to her body, the belt itself was marked with a multitude of symbols the most important was a burning heart carved on the inside leather. Bound around her neck was a yellow infinity scarf made of a durable substance meant to resist blades, it also matched the Grimm-masked woman's hair.

The golden hair was the only amount of personal beauty she'd allow the rest of the world to see, as her face was hidden behind a white and red metal mask imitating the visage of an Ursa, only her red eyes could be seen from the outside. Strapped to her belt was a short single-bladed sword in a Grimm-eques scabbard and a small metal case about the size of a brick, it had cost a lot of lien to give this case a biometric seal, but in her line of work you get what you pay for. The sword was her most blatant weapon, and actually her least useful, Mother always told her to keep her true weapons hidden. Her real weapons were the white and red wrist bands she wore, disguised powerful gauntlets that could be unfurled at a moment's notice into crushing cestus. The gauntlets were wrapped around the hard corded muscles of her arms and were by far her deadliest weapons. The Grimm-masked woman was always ready for a fight.

But she was not sent here for one, though she might ache for it. She was sent here to deliver the package sealed in the box at her belt and secure an alliance with the buyer on behalf of her mother.

After about an hour of walking the Grimm-masked woman arrived at the meeting location; a dance club in the seedy part of town. The music emanating from the club brought back memories that had only soured with age.

“Can’t start a fight this time. As fun as that would be” she sighed to herself as she descended into the club.

**The Club**

The club was black and red, with lights spinning and flashing throughout, a pumping beat shook the room and partiers jumped and jived to the thumping music. The place was amazingly clean and all surfaces were made of one reflective substance or another helping make the place always seem more crowded than it was. Near the center of the dance floor, a white-haired woman gyrated against another older woman. The Grim masked woman licked her lips looking at her.

_It’s been a while_ she thought _The desert makes you thirsty for more than just water_

Images flashed in the Grimm-masked woman’s mind, images of taking the pale woman in her arms and kissing her, sucking the air out of her lungs with the kiss till she’s exhausted from the kiss alone. Her gasping for breath and yet begging for more and the Grimm-masked woman would be happy to give her more.

_It’s been a LONG while_ the grim masked woman thought to herself shaking her head. _Focus on any possible threat, just like mom told you to. THAT other issue can wait_

The grim-masked woman scanned the room as she approached the bar.

“A couple of well-armed guards, a drunk huntsman and 3 possible white fang agents. None are paying particular attention to me”

She sat down at the Bar, eyes lingering on the white fang members. A grin split her face.

_Now they might be fun later_ she mused _they think they’re hidden but how many Faunus built like THAT, hang out in a place like this. Maybe I’ll pay them a visit after this is sorted out_

The bartender approached the counter, the grim masked woman did not look away from the gathered Faunus, he tapped the bar to get her attention.

"What can I get you blondie?" The bartender spat at the Grimm-masked woman.

Her right hand twitched at the bartender's choice of words, the last person who called her that had received an ass-kicking the Grimm-masked woman only regretted not taking to its ultimate end.

_Keep it cool, you can’t start a fight here_ she thought to herself as she turned to face the bartender.

“Strawberry sunri….” The Grim-masked woman’s voice trailed off as she locked eyes with Junior Xiong.

“Yang?” Junior said, a slight twinge of fear in his voice. “You’re not going to wreck my new bar are yah?”

Yang Xiao Long lifted the grim-mask from her face and looked up at Junior. He almost looked the same, the same face and the same clothes, but there was a slight difference; he’d gotten older. Grey hairs were coming in around his temples and he got a cut underneath his right eye. That cut made Yang twitch slightly.

Yang had changed as well, her hair was bound up in a ponytail behind her head and was not as crazy as it once was, bags hung under her eyes accompanying a small scar beneath her left eye. She looked a lot older than 19. She smiled lightly towards him actually happy to see someone from her past who had yet to stab her in the back.

“Nah Junior, breaking your place isn’t in the cards tonight”

The fear evaporated from Junior’s eyes, he leaned against the bar as if he was speaking to his favorite customer. He pulled out 2 glasses and began preparing Yang’s sunrise.

“So Yang what’s it been? 2 years, 3?”

“2, and I thought I told you to call me sir” Yang grinned at that last bit, remembering the destruction she rained on Junior and his goons. Junior only shrugged and poured the sunrise into Yang's glass. The Pink juices of the sunrise swirled in the glass. Yang stared at the rose-colored drink for a bit before Junior pulled out a small yellow umbrella and placed it into the glass.

“I didn’t think “sir” would be appropriate for a wanted woman” Yang tensed at that, hand drifting toward the sword at her hip.

"Relax Blondie I won't sell you out," Junior said waving Yang's hand away. "Can't risk you busting up my place in a fight is all."

Yang relaxed, she leaned forward grinning up at junior. Yang wasn't short by any means but Junior dwarfed just about everyone in the dance club. The man was a giant and could look beowolves in the eye without lifting his chin.

"You sure, I'm told I'm quite valuable, you could rake in a ton of lien if you catch me and turn me in" she put on her best wolfish grin as she said that.

Junior chuckled and poured himself a strawberry sunrise.

“IF being the important factor” he replied sipping the cocktail. “So Yang what brings you to my bar… again?”

"Business" Yang replied cold and quick. Junior glanced at her, one eyebrow quirked up. She'd have to change the subject "So when did you move to Vacuo?"

“A little bit after the Vytal festival and your escape” junior said without breaking stride. “You pissed off someone fierce Yang, cause they came looking for anyone who might’ve harbored you”

Junior swirled the drink in his hand looking around the room thoughtfully.

“And I couldn’t have those Atlas nerds snooping around my establishment, so me and my boys just packed up and came here.”

Yang frowned at that and held her glass with both hands. She’d only ever really bullied junior but she never disliked the guy. Alotta people got hurt cause of the Vytal festival and junior hadn’t been one who deserved it.

“Sorry about that” she mumbled.

“Eh it’s no worry, we were planning on moving house again anyway. Huntsmen got too cozy at my bar, it was bad for my other businesses” Junior leaned closer to Yang in a conspiratorial manner. “So what business are you doing at my bar… Sir?”

Yang looked from junior to the armed guards around the club, junior it seemed had gotten himself some better guys since the last time she was in his bar. Better quality weapons better armor and a few had scars from previous fights. She was confident she could take Junior and his goons no trouble, but she might scare off her client and draw the cops’ attention. That would bring in the huntsmen, who in turn would bring the Atlesian specialists.

**Don’t start a fight**

Yang reached back, grabbed the case and set it on the bar in front of Junior. Junior flinched as she brought up the box.

“Just a delivery is all, confirmation of a finished job.”

Junior glanced at the box, he knew what confirmation meant and he could guess what was in the box. Junior shrugged, tightened his tie and began cleaning glasses.

“Any business done in my bar owes me a cut”

Yang glared up at him and her grin turned wolfish.

“You sure about that Junior? You want to piss off a dragon?”

"Everyone pays a cut and you can't afford to be caught," he said matter-of-factly. "It's just rude otherwise".

"Fine 10%," Yang said as she leaned back in her chair trying to appear as relaxed as possible.

“Please I make more off tips, 20%”

“Considering the service here that’s amazing, 12%”

“Guess people just like my face 15%”. Junior extended his hand towards Yang, his face deadly serious. “Final offer, take it or find someplace else to deal”

Yang looked at the hand for a bit before taking it in her own and squeezing just a bit too hard.

“Well junior I certainly find your mug to be ruggedly handsome, you got yourself a deal”

They both shook hands and Yang ordered another sunrise.

Half an hour and 4 sunrises in Yang was beginning to wonder if the client had forgotten the meet location, she’d spent the last thirty minutes chatting with Junior about the state of the world and reveling in the fact that she finally had someone to properly talk to.

Then a man in a dark green suit seemed to pop up right next to Yang, Maybe it had been the sunrises but she hadn’t heard him walk up to her. She turned in her chair towards him, feigning drunkenness as much as possible, it was easy; she’d had a few sunrises.

"Mista Green ah presume" She slurred her words as much as she could without sounding too exaggerated. "You are late mate hehe" she giggled at her own rhyme.

Yang stood up from her chair swaying slightly as she approached her buyer. Mr. Green sneered at Yang and began reaching for the Box on the bar. Yang drunkenly fumbled at the box pulling it towards her chest, almost dropping it twice, she pointed a finger at the space 11 degrees to Mister Green’s right.

“Hey payment first boyo” she rubbed her fingers together “I need that sweet lien or Little Bear here won’t let me leave”

Junior grunted at the comment as a gesture of acknowledgment.

Mister Green reached out and grabbed the case’s handle.

“Sorry to tell you this, but the funds have already been sent to your employer” His voice slithered out of his mouth like a King Taijitu from a cave. “So looks like your stuck here”

Green pulled at the case but Yang didn’t let go, she stumbled forward and into Green, she turned towards him and drunkenly belched in his face.

"Sorry, Green bean but if yah lie to ME again" she pointed at herself in as an exaggerated manner as possible. She dropped the drunken façade. "Then I'll snap you like a green bean and Raven will thank me for the service."

Green froze staring at Yang, she liked shocking people and dropping the drunk act certainly shocked Green. _Bloody snake deserves it for trying to steal from a drunk_

Green reached into his coat and handed Yang a stack of Lien. She leafed through the Lien one-handed, never taking her other hand from the case.

"Seems like it's all there mister green, Let me get that lock for you" She twisted her hand and pressed her thumb onto the fingerprint scanner until it beeped and a metal click could be heard. She let go of the case and Mister Green covetously gripped the case to his chest. Yang leaned back against the bar, she removed several Lien bills from her stack and handed them to Junior who pocketed them without a word. Green opened the case and looked at the contents inside, his face turned sour and then downright angry, he glared at Yang.

“Where’s the index finger you bitch?” He snarled at Yang. Yang rested her hand on her chest and put on a face of mock shock.

"You wanted proof that the target was dead and we've supplied it, I know normally we supply our clients with just the index finger but Raven thought it would be fun to mix it up and give the client the whole hand minus that finger" She gave Mister Green the toothiest smile she could manage. "Unless of course, it was actually the finger you wanted and this whole assassination has just been a means to get that digit"

Mr. Green’s glare faltered at that.

“Raven doesn’t like being swindled Green”

“We didn’t swindle her!” he replied stammering just so slightly.

Yang rounded on green getting close so he could see his own reflection in her red eyes.

“Really cause sending her out to kill a man and just give you a highly valuable finger without paying her the finger’s proper value sounds a lot like swindling, or perhaps you thought you’d turn Raven into a pawn” Yang prodded Green in his dark green vest. “Raven doesn’t like it when clients take advantage green, so either pay us the finger’s real value or cut Raven in on the deal”.

Green took a step back and scratched his chin considering that, Raven was quite the name to throw around in these circles and it was not a name to wield lightly. Yang used her mother’s name as often as she damn well pleased.

“Fine” Green eventually said “We’ll cut her in on the deal”

Yang took a step back from Green and spread out her hands in a placating gesture.

"Excellent, ill inform Raven you're interested in a profitable partnership between us." Yang smiled at Green. She turned away from green and saw the 3 Faunus walk out towards the bar's exit, a smirk rose to her face. Yang grabbed her Ursa helm, dropped a fist full of lien on the counter and began walking towards the Faunus.

“Crazy Bitch”

Yang didn't turn back. "The true fun's leaving the bar," she thought.

“Wait… you’re that crazy bint from the Vytal festival”

Yang froze in place.

"Yeah, you're the psycho who broke that kid's leg and attack Atlas security," Green shouted at yang's back. Junior froze and the music seemed to die down slightly.

Yang turned on a dime to face Green, the loveliest smile plastered on her face. She began walking towards him, swaying her hips in what she still knew was a sultry manner.

“Well you know what they say about Crazy girls” She purred at Green, leaning closer to him. Green gulped and looked shocked at how close Yang was to him. “We’re supposed to be excellent in the sack. So how about a kiss before I go Greeny?”

Yang leaned even closer to Green, crimson eyes glimmering up at him. Green’s face seemed to shift from shock to delight and he started to lean towards Yang, lips puckered.

Juniors hand shot out and grabbed Green pulling him back. Green squirmed in Junior’s grip and Yang gave Junior an annoyed look, akin to a cat whose favorite toy had just been removed.

“Get your hands off me what are you doing?” Green shouted at Junior trying to break his grip.

Junior Pulled Green towards him and glared into the little man.

“I’m saving your life you idiot” His gaze shifted to Yang. “And saving my bar in the process”

Yang gave junior a friendly wink, turned around, placed the helm on her head and left.

_Now, time for some fun_

_ _


	2. Pleasure after business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long day of Work Yang decides to find a way to relax

**Chapter 2: pleasure after business**

It had taken Yang about 4 minutes to track down the three Faunus and she'd been forced to tail (heh) them for about a half an hour before they led her to the white fang's local meeting place. She had followed them along the rooftops of Vacuo, not out of necessity but just for the thrill of jumping from roof to roof, she was a bit disappointed when her quarry had finally arrived at their destination. It was the usual type of joint; an abandoned warehouse in the bad part of town.

_Why do we even have these warehouses?_ Yang thought to herself. _I wonder what these Megalomaniacal-types would do without them_

Yang Peered down from the roof towards the warehouse’s back door, they had one guard standing outside wearing the traditional White fang Grimm-mask revealing his mouth and lower jaw but concealing everything else. Yang hopped down from the roof as quietly as she could, out of sight of the guard and walked towards him as peaceably as possible. The Guard had a machete at his hip and a gun in his hand, the Faunus was leaning against the wall next to the back door. The Guard seemed more bored than anything else.

"Hey Buddy" Yang shouted to him as she approached waving her hand towards him. "Hey, dude has the meeting started yet?"

The guard seemed taken aback by Yang's approach, he didn't seem prepared for this eventuality. But who COULD prepare for Yang anyway? He stood up from the wall and turned to face Yang, looking her up and down, his eyes lingering on Yang's chest for a second too long.

_The girls’ magic comes through again._

Yang walked up to the Guard puffing out her chest as much as she could, the poor sap was enraptured, when she was about a meter away she’d let the kimono fall from her shoulders and hang around her waist exposing her arms, the bullet scar on her right shoulder, her protective wrapping and her fully extended Ember Celica.

The Guards gaze traveled down her arms and froze on the gauntlets, he seemed to snap out of the spell the "Girls" had put him under, and he began fumbling with his weapons. Yang's fist shot out and struck the guard right in the forehead knocking the back of his head against the concrete of the warehouse, he staggered for a second then flopped to the ground.

“One punch? Really?” Yang sighed to herself “Man the white Fang’s standards are really going down”

Stepping over the guard's unconscious body Yang quietly entered the warehouse. The warehouse had metal crates throughout and a podium far from the door. The room itself wasn't as packed as some of the other White Fang meetings she'd previously crashed, but it had the usual set of characters; the new recruits in civilian clothes, the regular WF soldiers in standard gear and the one Lieutenant in custom gear standing on a podium. This Lieutenant was large but not too large and carried a mace at his back, his Grimm-mask revealed his eyes but covered his mouth. He was walking back and forth along the podium. He was speechifying as they were want to do.

"… The strike on shade academy shall be quick and devastating" he shouted at the crowds. "The aim will be to destabilize the school and incite panic among the lofty citizens of Vacuo" He turned to face the recruits. "Any Faunus civilians you can convince to leave the premises or join our cause will be considered a worthy life saved, and if you cannot get them to leave the academy outright, see if you can prevent them for approaching the strike zones at the proper times. It would be best if innocents were unharmed”

“HA!”

The whole Warehouse went silent and all present turned towards the Grimm-masked woman holding her belly as she laughed.

"Heheheh Oh think of the innocents," she said in a mocking tone. "Our noble race of Faunus must look out for one another as we happily murder a group of unprepared students. hehe"

Yang let out another loud laugh and leaned against one of the Metal crates looking at the stupefied crowd. One of the guards cautiously walked over to her gun half raised.

"Which Cell are you from?" He asked. Yang tilted her head as if she was confused and pointed a finger up at herself. "Yes, you! What cell are you from? We'll be informing your superior of this display of disrespect"

Yang Laughed again and rested her hand on the Faunus’ shoulder.

"Oh heh you misunderstand dude," She said half laughing "I'm not white fang, I'm a human"

Yang quickly pulled her hand away and smashed the Faunus soldier in the face with a left hook that sent him soaring across the crowd. She slammed her fist together and flames seemed to burst up around her. She let out a roar, grinning the whole while.

“WHOSE NEXT!?”

The room exploded into movement, not at all coordinated movement but movement none the less. The new recruits began fleeing from Yang while the general soldiers charged her, the Lieutenant was shouting orders trying to regain control.

_What a heartwarming effort_ Yang thought to herself _But no-one escapes the dragon_

Yang fired Ember Celica behind her launching her through the air over the first row of WF grunts and into the middle of the crowd. She landed firmly, the crowd surged towards her and she fired her thunder dust shell into the ground. The sound alone was deafening and everyone 15 feet around Yang was knocked back by the force of the explosion. Yang drew the sword, holding it in an icepick grip with her right hand and firing the gauntlet of her left. The Gauntlet shot sent Yang whirling around towards the crowd of white fang, she managed to cut through half-a-dozen auras before the whirling momentum died down.

She jumped into the crowd trying to keep up the momentum she made with the spin strike. This was a melee in every sense of the word, Ranged weapons were not an option (For the White fang that is) since the crowd was too clustered together. Melees were where Yang thrived. A Faunus would come in with a clumsy swing from above, Yang would block it with her short blade, punch him in the face and throw him into the crowd running at her flank.

Another would sweep at her legs, she’d jump up, kangaroo boot them in the face and launch herself into another oncoming attacker. She’d keep up routines like these throughout the brawl and if things got too heated she’d fire another thunder shell into the ground to give herself some breathing room.

_There’s something cathartic about routine_ She mused as she kneed a female deer Faunus in the face. The Deer stumbled back and let out a sob before Yang kicked her feet out from under her and knocked the doe’s lights out.

_Awww poor baby, why did Blake ever run with these chumps_ The thought of Blake’s name caused Yang to freeze for a split second and in that second Blake’s disappointed, disapproving face flashed in Yang’s mind. Blakes Golden eyes seemed to refuse to meet Yang’s and a voice echoed in Yang’s head.

**I WANT TO BELIEVE YOU**.

A sword flashed and Yang was aware of her surroundings again, the sword had bypassed Yang's aura and barely nicked her Ursa helm. The soldier smirked at his successful strike, the smirk vanished as Yang grabbed his wrist and began swinging the Faunus into his allies.

“YOU WANT TO BELIEVE ME?!” Yang Shouted as she smashed the soldier into what looked like a lizard Faunus. “IM SO GLAD YOUR TRUST IS SO EASILY LOST”

Yang threw her battered living club into the crowd of WF soldiers, who were now cowering from the woman who’d torn through their forces like tissue paper, and was in the process of talking to herself. Yang saw the fear and decided to capitalize on it. She tilted her head to one side and giggled loudly, adding a few twitches in for added effect.

"You all believe I'm innocent right?" she asked the crowd in as creepy a voice as she could put on. A few heads nodded in agreement, a few pulled their guns out now that Yang had given them some space and time. Yang fired at the soldiers before they could even get their guns readied.

This wasn't a fair fight, not even close. Yang had been fighting and running for the past two years of her life and was an excellent huntress before that. Yang had a talent for fighting and a passion for it, these grunts didn't have half her skill, a quarter of her talent or a speck of her passion for the fight. By the fight's end, most of the WF had either fled, been knocked out or were in no condition to leave. In the center of the room Yang was holding up a particularly sturdy soldier and seeing how many head butts it would take for her to crack his Grimm mask open. The Lieutenant just stared at her from the podium as she hammered away.

“Seven”

Crack

“Eight”

Crack

“Nine?”

Crack

“TEN!”

The mask split away revealing a tanned unconscious face beneath, the man's nose was broken, his cheekbone was caved in and his eye had swollen shut. Yang dropped him and turned towards the podium.

"Well you were a lotta help during the fight," She said up at the lieutenant while resting her hand on her hip. "You scared of little ole me?"

The Lieutenant hefted his mace and glared down at Yang.

“I was waiting for you to tire yourself out, actually” He replied in a gravelly tone, he took a defensive stance. Yang gave him a mock yawn in reply. “You must be either mad or foolish to pick a fight with the fang”

“Stick with the former dude, punching the white fang isn’t as dangerous as it used to be” she kicked up some dirt from the ground “Though I must admit this whole experience has been very therapeutic”

Yang grinned up at the Lieutenant. The Lieutenant gripped his mace even tighter letting his knuckles turn white from the pressure.

"That's all this was for? This destruction was just so you could unwind?!" He screamed at yang and with a click, he ignited the mace head and wreathed it in flame. "I will break you on this day madwoman"

"Oh, it seems my Therapist is thera-PISSED" Yang grinned beneath her mask and shot the finger guns at the big man. He froze atop the podium and his shoulders seemed to sag.

"Oh Dust. You're THAT madwoman aren't you?"

Yang tilted her head at that, her frequent violent run-ins with the White fang must have gotten her a reputation. She could roll with that, a scared opponent is a clumsy opponent after all; Yang gave the lieutenant a gracious bow. The lieutenant snarled a wordless curse and jumped from the podium at yang hefting the mace over his head. Yang jumped back from the strike but as the mace head hit the ground a burst of flame shot out from it and engulfed yang. As the smoke cleared from Yang's eyes she could see the Lieutenant coming at her with a vicious upwards swing of the mace.

“Commander Taurus will thank me for putting you out of the fang’s misery” The Faunus shouted as the mace swung at Yang.

Yang brought Ember Celica up in time to block the strike but was still knocked back and the jet of flame singed her exposed arm. Yang spun through the chamber of Ember Celica until she loaded the dust round she'd been after. The Faunus took the mace in both hands and swung it horizontally, a wave of flame spat from the swing and rushed towards yang. Yang slammed her right fist at the ground and a small wall of ice sprouted from the ground in front of her. The Faunus wasted no time in hammering away the ice wall, while he hammered Yang waited patiently, timing his swings.

**Find your opponent’s rhythm and punish them for it.**

Mother's words always helped Yang keep focused. The ice shattered and as the Lieutenant swung the mace down at Yang, she brought her left fist up to meet the strike. When Ember Celica collided with the mace it coated the mace's head in a 3-inch thick layer of ice. The Lieutenant pulled back the mace in shock but the new weight of the weapon threw him off balance. Yang lunged forward and struck him in the side of the knee, his aura took much of the strike but his leg was still knocked out from underneath him, he fell. 

As the Lieutenant fell Yang threw an uppercut right into his neck, again the aura saved him but it was weakening. Yang spun and delivered a closed fist back-hand at his side, the lieutenant managed to block that one with his mace, no matter. Yang bounced off the mace and struck the Faunus in the head with a spinning roundhouse kick, his aura cracked and again he stumbled. Yang entered into her usual set of rolling punches and began tearing him apart.

First, the mace was broken, then the Knee, then his ribs and finally his cheekbone. Blow after blow she rained on him and each one was more relaxing than the next, the lieutenant fell to his knees with a sickening crunch and he gazed up at Yang with his one good eye; he seemed like he was about to cry.

“AND THE UNDISPUTED CHAMPION IS?” Yang yelled into the empty warehouse. No-one answered “THE SUN DRAGON!! Ha-ha!”

The grim-masked woman disengaged her cestus, put her kimono back on and retrieved her katana, it had fallen sometime during the mass melee and she honestly couldn't remember when. She pocketed a couple lien notes that had fallen out of white fang member’s pockets during her beating.

_Girls gotta get cash somehow_ she thought as she pulled some dust vials from a Faunus girl with a leg bent in the wrong direction. Yang glanced at the vial; red dust in powdered form produced by… “Oh”

Yang stared at the symbol on the vial and the rest of the world seemed to fade away until all she could hear was her beating heart. The beating was rather loud in fact, like someone pounding on a wall….

_Someone’s trying to break in_ Yang realized breaking out of her stupor. As the thought entered Yang’s mind a huge section of brick and mortar crashed inwards and four figures burst into the room. Yang knew them, unfortunately.

The first was a brawny tanned fellow wearing a long coat lacking sleeves, his hair was an outrageous color of green and he hefted an even more outrageously large sword over his shoulder.

_Sage, I think_

Closest to Yang was wearing a red jacket and a set of goggles with bright blue lenses that matched his bright blue hair. In his hands was a trident turned laser rifle held at the ready. The dude looked like the perfect boy toy.

_Oh Neptune_

Furthest from Yang was a rather effeminate man wearing eyeliner and wielding a cutlass and pistol. This one had Dark red hair.

_Scarlett is this one’s name judging by the hair_

Finally emerging from the dust of the fallen wall came a shirtless figure, with bright hair, bright blue eyes, and an even brighter smile. His monkey tail juggled a long red staff built from gun-chucks as he confidently walked into the warehouse.

_…and Sun Wukong makes 4, goody_”

“Nobody move you are all under-arrest…..” Sun yelled into the room of unconscious white fang members. “WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED HERE?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artwork courtesy of u/Torchwick_Roman. Please leave a review its always appreciated


	3. Old Friends Old Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang encounters friends she hasn't seen in 3 years

**Chapter 3 Old Friends Old Wounds**

Team SSSN were on a bounty mission, their target was a troublesome White fang Lieutenant deeply involved in the Vacuo branch of the White Fang. A lieutenant Yang just beat to a pulp, hell she was pretty sure she just beat up a good portion of the Vacuo White Fang. Now she’d have to get out of here without raising any suspicion from team SSSN and without Sun or Neptune recognizing her. Yang flicked on the voice modulator on her mask before waving keenly towards team SSSN.

"Yoo-hoo," she said at what sounded like a higher pitch. "No worries fellas I took care of it.”

Team SSSN seemed to relax a bit at that, but they didn’t put away their weapons.

_And Sun’s dangerous even without his gun-chucks_ Yang thought to herself.

Sun started sauntering towards Yang, a smile plastered to his face, it was a cunning grin he wore well. Yang kept her focus on Sun and tried to resist the urge to bolt away, she knew that if she ran Sun would pounce in an instant.

“So you took care of all these guys by yourself?” Sun asked looking around the warehouse. “Seems a lotta work for one person”

"Oh, there weren't that many" Yang replied putting on her modest little huntress voice. "They were fighting amongst themselves when I arrived, made it a bit easier"

Sun started walking around Yang, keeping a three-meter distance from her as he did. He grabbed one of his gun-chucks and began twirling it as he walked. Neptune ran to the Lieutenant and began examining him.

“Sun we got a problem” Neptune shouted. Sun kept walking around Yang. “The target is barely breathing”

_Oh thank dust_ Yang thought, blowing out a soft sigh _Now they’ll have to focus on moving him and leave me be_

"Scarlett, see if you can help Neptune patch him up" Sun shouted in response, again not looking away from Yang. "Say mind telling us your name lovely?"

“Ursia” Yang replied instantly, Mother had told Yang to have an alternate identity ready at all times. Mother had told Yang to do a great many things and she tried her best to fulfill her mom’s wishes. “I only got into the kingdom yesterday, and your name is …Sun right?”

Sun nodded. “You a Huntress?”

“I work freelance but I’m not licensed” being licensed meant she’d have to be listed on the huntsmen database and Yang couldn’t have that.

“What’s with the Grimm mask?”

“I thought it might scare people” Yang brushed at the Ursa mask with evident reverence, it was an involuntary action but she did love that mask. She’d forged the mask herself and selected the beast she’d model it after, the mask was very important to her.

“Hmmm so where you from?”

“Are you interrogating me?” Yang put a twinge of fear in her words rather than her more natural defiance.

“Just having a friendly conversation with someone new in town” Sun said juggling his gun-chucks. “Love the hair by the way”

“Sun we have to get this guy moving now!" Neptune shouted he and Scarlett had managed to get the Lieutenant strapped to a stretcher and bandaged up in seconds.

_They must get a few search and rescue missions_ Yang mused.

Sun glanced from the Lieutenant to Yang and back again, he nodded at Yang, a smile still plastered to his face and jogged back to join Neptune and Scarlett. Yang relaxed, that had been a bit too close for comfort, and she began to turn away when she heard a low mumble.

“What did he say?” Neptune asked. The Lieutenant mumbled again and Scarlett leaned in closer to the bruised and bandaged man.

"What's a Sun-Dragon?" Scarlett asked. Yang, Neptune, and Sun all froze in place. Sun slowly turned towards Yang recognition in his eyes.

“Yang?”

Yang spun around and fired a thunder dust shell right into the back wall. The wall exploded outward and Yang sprinted towards the newly made hole. She was nearly out of the warehouse when Sage stepped in her path, huge sword readied behind him. Yang turned her sprint into a dead-on-sprint and let out a wordless roar as she charged Sage. Sage didn’t hesitate, he swung the titanic sword in a horizontal slash right at Yang.

_Dude must be trusting my Aura to take the hit_ Yang thought. _I don’t have enough left in me to tangle with all of team SSSN_

When Sage's sword was about an inch from Yang's face, she ducked backward and turned her charge into a slide and slid between Sage's legs. Once past Sage Yang popped out of her slide and leaped out of the hole. The back entrance of the warehouse led to an alleyway and a brick building neighboring the warehouse. Once in the Alleyway Yang focused her aura into her legs and hands and launched herself up the brick wall. She made it about halfway up the wall on the jump alone and climbed further by smashing handholds into the wall as she went.

“Get out get out conserve ammo get out!”

Yang was almost at the roof of the wall when a blast of blue energy shot into her left forearm. Yang pulled her hand back in pain and was left hanging on with her right arm, the shot stung but not as much as the memories it brought. She looked back into the warehouse and saw Neptune holding his still smoking rifle a look of pleading sadness on his face. Neptune was safe until Yang saw that look, then Neptune’s blue hair and rifle turned to red and Ruby flashed in Yang’s vision.

**I’m sorry yang!**

Yang screamed and fired a flame dust round at Neptune before vaulting onto the roof using only the strength of her right arm. She didn’t look back to see if her shot hit Neptune, she wouldn’t care if it did.

**Come Back, Yang!**

“Shut up!” Yang screamed at team SSSN “Leave me alone!”

The skyline of Vacuo was a sight to behold, each building was made of a brownish-red brick and was decorated with a rainbow of flags. Yang didn't have time to admire the scene, she was busy jumping from roof to roof; creating as much distance as possible between her and Team SSSN.

**There is no bravery in fighting a losing battle.**

Mother’s words were echoing in Yang’s head as she ran, they kept her calm and focused while she ran. Suddenly a golden light passed over Yang’s head arching across the sky just like a…

“Sun!”

Yang fired a blast at Sun's light clone bursting it in an explosion of light, another clone tackled Yang's legs from behind causing her to fall backward. Yang twisted during her fall and turned it into a fierce elbow drop right onto the small of the light clone's back. The clone exploded and propelled Yang back to her feet. 

"Yang Wait!" Sun shouted at Yang's slightly burned back "You can't keep running"

“The hell I can’t” she shouted back glancing over her shoulder. Yang saw that both Sage and Sun were in hot pursuit of her. Sage looked odd, he seemed to be crouched and not moving

_What is he up to?_ Yang thought to herself. And suddenly Sage was gone, the man had focused all his aura into his legs and launched himself across multiple rooftops quick as a bullet. He landed right in front of Yang, his impact put cracks in the roof.

Sage spun his sword around and struck Yang right in her stomach with a horizontal cut. Yang had the wind knocked out of her and felt her Aura strain against the force of Sage’s blow, she flew back and before she could get her bearings Sun was there to catch her. Then Yang’s world flipped upside down as Sun suplexed her into the vacuoian roof.

_OW!_

Yang had been able to bring up her aura around her head and neck in time to mitigate the damage the blow might have caused and prevent disorientation. Down-side: she felt that blow crack her aura Up-side: Sun and Sage were unaware she wasn’t disorientated.

**Play up any injury you get, give your enemies illusions of weakness and punish them for looking down on you.**

_I remember the lessons mother_ Yang thought as she stumbled to her feet, half tripping as she began to rise, she clutched at her head and swayed as she tried to walk away from Sun and Sage. Sage stepped right in Yang’s path blocking it. Yang turned and saw that Sun was behind her, she fell to her knees.

Sun Walked towards Yang's palms up, smirk gone from his face. Yang always wondered who would win in a straight fight between the two of them. She knew that now wasn't the time to find out.

"It's over Yang," Sun said in a voice that one would use when talking to dangerous animals. "You probably got a concussion from that last hit. It's been two years Yang let us take you in, it'll be better than if the Atlas specialists find you at least"

Yang pulled her Ursa mask back from her face, exposing her tired features to the light of Vacuo. She dry heaved and looked up at Sun, a spittle covered smile on her face. Sun took a step back from Yang, her smile was half-crazed and her eyes… her eyes were redder than ever and Yang wasn’t even angry. Yang started to chuckle being sure to add a coughing fit into the middle of it.

"Yeah it's always nice to get arrested by friends" She laughed. Sage took a step towards Yang just as she slammed her fists together and fired an ice round right into a fire round. In an instant, the colliding dust charges had created a thick mist around her, Sun and Sage. Yang launched from her crouched position and dropped into the alley below.

_Sage’s jumping trick must eat away at his Aura reserves, so I should be safe to build up some distance,_ Yang coughed up a mouthful of blood. _But then again I don’t have much Aura left either._

Yang glanced at Ember Celica; she was out of dust shells. Above her, she heard Sun and Sage arguing.

“Nice work sun” Came a baritone voice, Sage’s voice Yang assumed.

“Alright! Alright! Alright! Focus she couldn’t have gone far” Sun shot back.

_Dammit! Sun has his mind on the mission_. Yang cursed. _If they’d argued for a few seconds more, I could be home free._

“There!” Sage roared pointing down towards Yang. “In the ally”

**Always remember luck favors you enemies and utterly hates you.**

Before Yang had a chance to finish the memory of Raven's advice, Sage's sword spun through the air in front of her, it missed her by a hair and stuck in the wall of the building to Yang's right. Yang ducked under the sword and pulled out her own katana as she popped back up.

_A fight can’t be avoided_. Yang thought _They’re too fast for me to make an escape_

Sage landed in the alleyway ahead of Yang, and ahead of his sword. Yang glanced back at the sword behind her then back at Sage, she let a grin split across her face. Sage might have been a good fighter but Yang was nearly unstoppable in hand to hand combat and Sage was without his weapon. The Blonde rushed at Sage baring her teeth at him, Sage brought up his hands in defensive position palms open ready to catch a strike. Yang slashed her sword in a horizontal cut at Sage's abdomen causing him to instinctively tuck his stomach in and lean his head forward, Yang twisted her sword hand and brought it up in an uppercut that connected right with Sage's chin. Yang fired Ember Celica right as fist struck chin.

“Boom” Yang shouted.

Sage stumbled back and yang pressed her advantage; rushing in she launched a left hook which sage managed to take on his own right arm. Sage's other hand launched out and struck Yang in the face with an open palm strike, Yang turned with the strike grabbing the green-haired man's arm and flinging him over her shoulder. Sage landed well and broke the arm lock yang had by twisting his body, in response, Yang slashed with her Katana and managed to rake Sage's back causing his aura to flash briefly. Sage Jumped away from Yang just as Sun's foot came flying towards Yang's face.

**Conserve aura just like I taught you**.

Yang focused her aura reserves to her face right as Sun’s boot collided with it, she only moved back about an inch. Sun seemed to freeze mid-air in shock, Yang’s hand shot out and grabbed Sun by the ankle, she twisted and with not inconsiderable force smashed Sun into the Alley wall. As Sun fell to the ground Sage lunged at Yang, his sword point an inch from her face. Yang dodged and ducked out of the way of his sword thrusts and swings when a thought hit her mind.

_They’re just wearing me down, they’re trading off on who fights me. I need to finish this_.

Sage’s sword came down in a swing, Yang barely managed to deflect away from her. She sliced his left arm causing him to let go of the blade with one hand. Unfortunately Sage had enough strength in his right arm to strike Yang with the upward swing. Yang’s Aura, though focused, was cracked by the strike and she was launched into the wall at the end of the Alley.

_Crap I’m out of juice_.

Sage jumped at her, swinging his sword one-handed in a great diagonal cut. Yang ducked beneath the sword and struck Sage in the side of his knee, firing her final shell for good measure. Sage's Aura cracked and his knee made a popping noise as he stumbled back grasping his leg in pain.

"Ha, that'll show yah" Yang spat at him, spittle dripping from her lips. "Never fight the Dragon, Sage"

Yang was a wreck, her Kimono was torn, she was out of rounds entirely and her Aura was shot. And yet despite those things a smile was still stuck on her face until she noticed Sun slowly walking towards her Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang held in staff form.

_Oh yeah, Sun still has energy_. The thought dribbled through Yang’s head like a portion of her beaten brain.

"It's over Yang," Sun said with a shocking finality. Leaning against the wall Yang let out a bark of laughter. "You're outta Aura, Neptune and Scarlett will be back at any moment and I am in a less than stellar mood”

“Over what?” Yang asked

“Over the fact you just broke Sage’s leg”

“Oh yeah, that” Yang chuckled to herself and waved at Sage who was still doubled over in agony.

“What happened to you Yang? How did you get like this?” Sun asked pleading with his pretty blue eyes. Yang hated to be looked at that way so she turned away from his gaze.

“You know damn well what happened!” Yang shot back through clenched teeth. “You were at the Vytal festival same as me”

“I didn’t go on a senseless rampage and put everyone there in danger!”

Yang smashed her hand against the wall behind her, blood dripped from her fingertips as she gripped the stone wall. Sun hadn’t flinched.

"Neither did I Sun," she said with a sneer "But none of you were willing to believe me"

"Weiss was" Sun replied, the response had cut like a knife. Yang's blood had turned cold, she felt tears in her eyes as she thought of Weiss' scarred face, her laughter, and her lips. Twitches began to go through Yang's body and her fists started shaking, Sun took a step back from her.

Yang screamed, turned around and smashed her head into the brick wall behind her. With that blow her semblance sparked and all the hits she just took seemed to flow into her and empower her rage. Yang crouched down and dug her hands into the building’s foundation and with a roar of effort started lifting the building up.

“Yang what the Hell, calm down!” Sun shouted grabbing sage and back peddling away from Yang.

Yang lifted the building Higher and higher, the weight of it was agony on her limbs, She glanced over her shoulder at the retreating Sun and Sage.

“NEVER MENTION WEISS TO ME!” she screamed at them, then the building began to fall towards her and towards them. “EVER!”

The three-story building fell with a horrendous crash all along the alleyway and the three huntsmen were buried beneath it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art done by @onefourthdork on tumblr. Please leave a review I'm always curious how I can improve


	4. Flashback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buried under rubble Yang has time to think... time to linger on what brought her here and the Vytal festival incident.

Yang sucked air into her lungs gasping, it was dark all around her and she was surrounded by rubble. Turns out throwing a building at someone in a rage will often result in the thrower also being buried. She would have to throw the building further next time. Yang began to probe her surroundings; there was air coming in since she could feel a soft breeze coming from somewhere, none of her limbs were broken and her aura was coming back up so it must have been an hour or 2 since the building went down. All that would be good if it weren’t for the fact that she was stuck beneath a building she threw in a rage. Great.

_Why did I flip out like that? Sun just says HER name and I’m ready to kill him and myself in a stupid attack._

Yang started feeling around the rubble, focusing her aura to her senses, probing the stacks of brick and mortar feeling out the structure of the pile she was trapped beneath. After a half-an-hour, she had found her path and she began digging in that direction. As she shoveled her chest was wracked with tingling pain.

"Must have fractured or broken a rib when the building went down" she muttered to herself in the dark. "How did I get here, Dammit?"

The memories came flooding to her mind, musings to fight the boredom and distract from the pain.

* * *

**2 Years ago**

Yang and Weiss’ match against team FNKI had been a close one indeed, Weiss had been injured and Yang had been forced to fight off most of team FNKI by herself. It had been a hard fight and they’d been one good punch away from losing, but that’s not what bothered Yang, what bothered her is that Weiss had taken that one good punch. That action had cost Weiss her entire aura reserves and given her a few burns to boot, and she’d done it for Yang.

_She did it for team RWBY,_ Yang thought as she marched to the infirmary to see how Weiss was doing. _Don't delude yourself, Yang, your ego doesn't need any more waxing_

As Yang banished the thought from her mind she entered the infirmary. The place was like any other hospital on Remnant; white, sterile and mostly empty. The emptiness could be chalked up to healing properties of aura and the rarity of Grimm actually making it into the city to threaten civilians. There are rows of beds lining each wall and apparently, the only patient was sat in the darkest corner of the whole infirmary.

Pale white-haired Weiss was asleep in the shadowy corner of the sickroom, she was wearing the hospital scrubs and her hair was loose all around her, the scar over her left eye had reddened slightly from the burns. Ruby was sat next to her still wearing her red hood.

_Mom’s Hood_

Ruby was listing in her chair, she’d fallen asleep looking after her partner. Yang approached quietly, trying her best not to alert either of her sleeping team-mates. She reached out and lightly shook the small red girl till Ruby snorted herself awake. She blinked a few times before looking up at Yang, smiling her bright smile and jumping out of her chair to hug her sister, sleep fully forgotten.

“YANG!” She cried as she hugged her sister. Yang brought her finger to her own lips and shushed Ruby. Weiss stirred in her sleep and readjusted herself on the pillow.

Ruby readjusted her voice to a whisper. “You guys did great in the match, I’m sooooo proud of you”

She hugged Yang just a little bit tighter as she spoke, in response, Yang gave Ruby’s head a soft pat before breaking the hug with her.

“I’ll be sure to do my best in the one on one matches” Yang replied looking Ruby in her silver eyes, they looked like her mom’s eyes. “It’d be nice to bring dad a giant gold trophy to place on the mantle”

Ruby seemed to shake with excitement at the idea. Then she stopped suddenly as if she just had a realization.

“Oh Yang I gotta get back to the stadium to scope out your competition," Ruby said before leaning in towards Yang in a conspiratorial manner. "Can you keep an eye on Weiss while I'm away?"

“Uh, yeah sure I’ll cover your partner-ly duties sis” Yang answered, trying her best to keep the blush from her cheeks, the idea of her alone with Weiss brought some “intense” images to her mind. “Have fun”

“Fun?! This is recon” Ruby whisper shouted at Yang as she headed for the door.

When the infirmary door closed behind her Yang realized she was completely alone with Weiss. Yang looked down at Weiss, her burns from earlier that day were already halfway healed, wherever the burns were made Weiss’ usually snow-white skin look pinker than normal. The singed skin almost looked like that of a regular person. She truly was beautiful Yang realized, as she sat down in Ruby’s vacated chair, Weiss’ hair was unbound and had flowed all across the upper part of the bed creating an almost mystical look about her.

_She looks like a snow elf,_ Yang thought back to the old fairy tales her mother would read to her and Ruby. _She manages to keep a sort of chaotic poise even while asleep doesn't she?_

The Weiss let out a snort that sounded like a boarbatusk rutting in the dirt and the magic vanished. Yang had to stifle a giggle, the sound was so hilariously different from the image of a sleeping Weiss. A bit of Weiss' hair fell right into her mouth and she added a coughing sound to the snort, the coughing and the snorting sounded so different that Yang couldn't help but imagine 2 ugly trolls engaged in a heated debate. That image broke through Yang's defenses and she let out a laugh at the whole scene.

One of Weiss' eyes snapped open and glared at Yang. Yang froze, grin plastered on her face as Weiss sat up to glare down at the giggling blonde.

"Yang CHKK" Weiss spat out the hair that she had swallowed in her sleep, that action earned her another round of Yang's laughter. Weiss was good at glaring and she was unleashing her masterwork of a glare upon Yang. "Stop. Laughing. Yang!"

Yang reeled back the laughter to an occasional giggle, not out of fear of Weiss but more out of concern for the tiny woman’s pride. Weiss rolled her eyes and leaned against the head of her cot, her hair hanging around her shoulders, chest, and parts of her face. She looked Yang up and down, raising one eyebrow in the process. 

“Where’s Ruby?” She asked. Yang felt a bit hurt by the question though she couldn’t figure why.

“She went to go scope out my upcoming competition” Yang answered keeping her usual jovial tone. “She thinks she can come up with some winning strategies for me.”

Weiss scoffed at that. “Or she just wanted to watch more fights”

"A little column A, a little column B," Yang said scratching her head trying her best not to meet Weiss' eyes. Weiss took notice and didn't glare at Yang so much as non-verbally inform her that she wanted yang to get to the damn point. "Uh thanks again for the save back there Weiss"

“I’m certain you’d have done the same for me” She replied with a light smile Yang wasn’t used to seeing on her face. Weiss pulled off her sheets and sat on the edge of the bed, right in front of Yang. It was only then that Yang was fully aware of how short Weiss was, the bed was up higher than Yang’s chair and yet the blonde still was a head taller than diminutive Atlesian. “Maybe I could help you prep for the bracket tournament as well.”

"Uh, what were you thinking, Weiss?"

"Just some light sparring between the 2 of us"

“You sure you’re up for it”

Weiss shot Yang a top-tier scowl. “Of course I'm up for it, I just got a bit singed Yang it's nothing major" with that Weiss hopped off the bed and strutted towards her extra set of clothes. Yang stood up with Weiss and again let out a small snort at how small Weiss really was without her heels on. The Woman was a darn dwarf. To Weiss' credit, she didn't acknowledge Yang's half-held laughter regarding her height.

“Do you know of any locations where we could spar?” Weiss asked examining the clothes Ruby had brought her. She nodded upon finding them sufficient.

“The dining hall is still open” Yang replied grinning at the memory of the food fight they had there not too long ago. “Besides that apparently the main courtyard has seen its fair share of fights recently”

Weiss’ shoulder seemed to slump at that and she didn’t respond for a while, until she finally said “actually I was thinking of someplace without crowds, where it’s just us, you know”

"Oh" Yang was trying to keep the shock out of her voice and she quickly struggled to think up a place that would be suitable for that. "Uh, Pyrrha and Jaune train on a rooftop they think it's secret and hidden away." Yang had to roll her eyes at that, those two thought they were being super-secret, it was cute. "But we might run into them if we go there."

Weiss walked into the changing room and Yang scratched her head trying to think of quiet places she and Weiss could train at. Finally, Yang snapped her fingers causing Weiss to peak out from the dressing room.

“There's a nearby section of the forest of forever fall that no one really goes to”

Weiss raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Then how do you know about it"

"I stumbled on it when we went to fetch that tree sap, I put up a bunch of signs saying ‘Ursa cave stay out’” Yang chuckled at how she had gotten Blake to help her build those signs. “I usually head there if I want to be alone”

Weis emerged from the changing room fully dressed, combat skirt and all. “Perfection, let’s be off”

* * *

It took them about an hour to get to the forest and another 15 minutes to find the clearing. Throughout the whole trip, they chatted on how the festival was going and who was likely to defeat who in what match, nothing too serious. The clearing itself was much like the rest of the forest, it was coated in a layer of red leaves and smelled faintly of honey, the main difference was that in the center of the clearing was a large tree trunk resting on its side. The tree trunk was enormous, its diameter was about twice Yang’s height and it was pocked with little alcoves and holes throughout its length. Yang reached into one of these holes and pulled out a plastic bag filled with water bottles. She tossed one to Weiss, who caught it with one hand.

"Welcome to the clearing of single fall," Yang said gesturing to the fallen trunk "Eh eh?”

Weiss was not impressed.

"It's phrases like that that almost destroyed the Dining hall Yang," Weiss said smirking ever so slightly. Turning she planted Myrtenaster into the dirt and stripped off the shoulder and arm part of her dress, all in one smooth motion. Yang’s mouth gaped at the action, Weiss had a grace in everything she did and this was no exception, also her exposed shoulder and arms were tantalizing to look at.

Weiss smiled back at Yang clearly happy with the result she’d elicited, then she reached down and plucked her Rapier from the dirt and pointed it towards Yang.

“En Garde”

“What?”

Weiss’ pale shoulders slumped and she gave Yang an exasperated look. “Yang ‘En Garde’ means ready your guard”

“Oh is that what it means?”

"Yes, it is a traditional way of-" Before Weiss finished Yang and unfurled Ember Celica and launched herself towards the Heiress. As she launched forward she turned her momentum into a spinning Ax-kick aimed at Weiss' skull, Weiss dodged the attack but Yang wouldn't let her take momentum from her and fired both gauntlets at Weiss at once. Weiss' aura glimmered as she took the shells to her chest. Yang let out a growl and lunged at Weiss bringing her fist around in a right hook aimed at Weiss' ribs.

“Tricky” Weiss smiled as Yang’s fist collided with a small circle of white light; Weiss’ glyph. Yang had a half a second to smile back at Weiss before she flicked her wrist and the glyph turned from white to black and suddenly Yang’s fist was launched back with enough force to drag Yang along with it. As Yang rocketed back Weiss shot forward and struck yang with a flurry of cutting thrusts before jumping over the blond and slashing her along the back.

Yang fell to her knees and only just avoided landing right on her face, she could sense Weiss springing up for a jumping strike and roll away narrowly avoiding Weiss' piercing downward thrust. Stopping mid-roll Yang turned and Kangaroo booted at Weiss only to feel gravity suddenly shift as she was pulled upwards toward a large black glyph hanging in the sky.

_She’s 2 steps ahead of me, better change things up._

As Yang was dragged up she launched shot after shot at Weiss propelling herself even higher than the glyph was meant to pull her. Weiss didn't even bring up a glyph to protect her from the assault and as Yang was launched higher and higher the clearing became more and more filled with the dirt dust. When she thought she'd reached her peak, Yang pointed her gauntlets up at the sky and launched herself towards the dust cloud.

_If I hit the ground at this speed the crater I’ll make will at least throw Weiss off balance_.

Faster and faster Yang flew until she'd breached the dust cloud and pulled back her fist to strike the earth, it was then she noticed the golden clock face in the dust. Yang didn't even see Weiss spring out and strike her what must have been half a hundred times. The sheer multitude of the strikes launched Yang out of the dust cloud and right into the fallen Tree trunk, as she hit the trunk her Aura cracked and she let out a gasp. Weiss calmly emerged from the dust cloud brushing some dirt off her bare shoulder.

"Yang this won't do," she said strolling towards Yang. "How do you expect to represent team RWBY with this kind of technique?"

“Like this” Yang said grabbing a hold of the fallen trunk, ripping a portion of the tree off and striking Weiss with the hunk of wood. The strike knocked Weiss through the air and before she struck the ground Yang flung away the wood and jumped after her firing the last of her Ember Celica shots as she did. Weiss crashed to the earth her Aura shattering on impact, but before Weiss could pick herself up Yang crashed down on top of her straddling her to the ground with Ember Celica pulled back ready to punch.

Both girls looked at one another letting out exhausted breaths as they did. Yang smiled down at Weiss and after a few seconds, she returned the grin.

"Fair enough," Weiss said once she'd caught her breath. "I yield" only after Weiss said those two words did Yang lower her fist and get up off of the Atlesian girl. As she stood up Yang realized how physically close she and Weiss were in that moment, it brought a redness to her cheeks. She hurried over to the trunk and began checking the many alcoves set within the tree.

“Come on come on its gotta be in one of these”

“What do you have stored in here?” Weiss asked eyes exploring the enormous tree, she hadn’t taken the time to dust off her combat skirt or pick the dirt from her still exposed shoulders.

"Oh, just some stuff for camping; a bunch of waters, rations, camping equipment and a whole set of EC rounds in case I need them," She said pulling out a ration package from a lower hole in the tree. She looked over the ration packet, found it wasn't expired and tossed it to Weiss who, again, caught it one-handed. "It's my home away from my home away from home"

“Who knows about this place?”

Yang took a second to answer, fiddling with her ration pack and looking around the clearing until she finally said. “oh Just you Weiss” Weiss blinked at the that before looking away from Yang and fiddling with her hair a bit.

“Why haven’t you told Ruby?”

“Oh you know how sisters are” she gave Weiss a large grin “Sometimes you just need to be alone”

“Actually I wouldn’t know, I’ve only had an older sister, which as Ruby can a test” Weiss finally turned around to face Yang leaning closer as she did “is an entirely different matter”

Yang took a step back from Weiss and hoped the heat in her face didn’t show. To distract herself Yang started ripping into the jerky in her ration package, the jerky was hard and only slightly spicy but the effort required to rip it apart was enough to keep Yang busy. Weiss recoiled from Yang’s voracious eating, face marred slightly by disgust.

“Well it appears Ruby was wrong, you’re nothing like Winter” Yang looked up from her chewing and raised a quizzical eyebrow toward Weiss. “My older sister at least had table manners”

Yang swallowed the jerky and tried to make her eyes flash red, she'd been able to force it out a few times but those had only lasted for a second. Yang focused on angry thoughts and tried to ignore Weiss' pale blue eyes and how easily she could get lost in them. Weiss simply smiled at Yang and Yang decided it would be better to just give up on her intimidation attempts.

“Yeah well” Yang finally said as she started to walk around the tree, occasionally checking and rechecking the tree’s pockets. “Lack of manners comes from living without a mom” Yang placed her hands on her chest in mock sadness, all the better to hide the real sting behind it.

“Please mine and Winter’s manners have nothing to do with our mother, they come from exceptional breeding.”

Yang looked Weiss up and down and besides the height, she did have to admit her bone structure, proportions and so much else could be described as perfect. “Well those dwarven Eugenics programs have made quite the specimen"

Weiss stamped her foot on the ground and flashed Yang a glare. “I’ll have you know Winter is only an inch shorter than your gangly Uncle”

“Then I guess you were the dwarves of Atlas’ only success then” Yang chuckled dodging a bit of jerky Weiss had launched at her face. She raised up her fists and beckoned Weiss to actually fight her, Weiss cracked her knuckles in response. “So what odds do you give me in this fight?”

Weiss launched a number of jabs toward Yang’s left side. “Well Yang I wouldn’t bet against you, but your technique needs work”

Yang batted the strikes away and tried for a body shot only for Weiss to jump away. ”my technique worked fine last fight, though I could use advice for tackling Pyrrha”

Weiss launched a kick which hit Yang in the leg but got a strike to her shoulder for the trouble. “That fight was too close and as for Pyrrha, you might want to have a built-in quick release on Ember Celica or else she can throw you around like a ragdoll"

Yang snatched Weiss’ fist out of the air and tossed her over her shoulder. “What about Mercury?”

Rolling with the momentum of the toss Weiss recovered her feet and turned around to see Yang bearing down on her. "Well you'll have to incapacitate his legs" Weiss let out a jab or two at Yang, who ducked beneath them, then instinct took over. Yang was in her rolling punches and it was hard to hold back her momentum she struck out with a right hook and forgot Weiss' Aura was shot, the white-haired girl let out a yelp and was launched 6 feet across the clearing.

“Oh no”

Yang ran over to Weiss, a large bruise started to form on Weiss’ left cheek. Yang knelt down next to the Heiress, brushed the hair out of her face and muttered “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry” she didn’t notice Weiss’ hand come up and slap her across the side of the head. “Ow Hey!”

"See Yang that's your problem, you lose control too easily" Weiss let her hand come back and rest against Yang's cheek, her touch was so soft and surprisingly warm for an Ice Princess. "I'm not going to be there to look out for you during these fights"

Yang’s heart was going into overdrive, she could hear it thumping inside her head, she started to lean down towards Weiss her eyes were half open and her lips were… stopped by Weiss’ hand. Yang felt her cheeks turn bright red. Had she misread the situation, had she ruined their friendship? Had she-. Weiss leaned forward and passionately kissed Yang on the cheek and whispered in her ear. “After the Match Yang, after the Match”

Yang turned back towards Weiss and grinned from ear to ear. This was fantastic, she was on cloud nine and nothing could bring her down.

**CRACK!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No pic this time im afraid, nothing really fits with this chapter, I like that people are liking this and I really appreciate the reviews


	5. Interlude: Team RWBY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It doesn't take long For news of Yang to hit her old Team

**Team RWB_**

It was a sunny day on the borders of Vale. The birds in the trees were singing repetitive tunes trying to impress a mate or signal danger or were just singing to sing. Ruby Rose loved listening to their songs; it slowed her heart rate down.

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

She had been up in that pine tree for about 2 hours now and the nest she had made was as comfy as could be; she found the perfect branch for taking her weight, could see for miles in almost any direction and the butt of Crescent Rose felt almost soft resting against her shoulder. Truly it was a beautiful day for hunting.

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

Ruby had accompanied a group of Atlas soldiers who were patrolling the borders of Vale, most of them were green recruits and there were very few "Specialists" which was good, Ruby rarely got on well with the specialists. At first, they were hesitant to allow her to accompany them, but Ruby had been building a reputation amongst the border guards and these little green punks were in no position to deny her anything.

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

Ruby wasn’t there to help the border guards, not really. Her actions certainly helped them and the citizens of Vale. The strain on Vale’s borders had quite significant since the “Vytal festival incident" and hadn't let up since then. But at the end of the day, she was here to kill Grimm, everything else was secondary.

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

**CLICK**

Ruby dropped her magazine, it fell down the length of the tree she was resting in. Eventually, the magazine was picked up by one of the Atlas grunts and rushed to the ammo depot. Ruby had a deal going with the Atlesians, she’d minimize the Grimm threat and they would do everything they could to make that job as smooth as possible. This smoothing process usually involved Ruby in a crow’s nest firing at the Grimm while the atlas soldiers supplied her with more and more ammo. Ruby reached into the basket set next to her and loaded a new clip into Crescent Rose.

**BANG!**

It was a good system and she had come to know the little ammo gofer quite well, but not well enough to try and get his name. The scrawny kid could levitate small objects with his mind which made him ideal for what the Atlas Sergeants termed "Ruby Duty". Another refilled Magazine floated up next to Ruby and set itself neatly in the nearby weaved basket. Ruby glanced down the tree to look at the kid who had grabbed another one of her Magazines and was trying to de-dent part of it.

“Hey Ammo Boy” She shouted down at the kid, he quickly stood up straight and saluted her, Ruby rolled her eyes at that. “Yes you, don’t salute me I’m not in your army”

The kid hesitantly lowered his hand down and tried to look relaxed. The result was mixed.

"Yes Ma'am how can I be of service to you?" he seemed to struggle not to say the word _Sir _at the end of that sentence.

“These kids are drones” Ruby muttered to herself. She half considered telling the kid that before deciding against it.

“Tell the Quartermaster I need a set of Dust rounds” she decided to shout down instead. “Make it flame dust if you can”

The boy took a half step away from the tree, then paused and turned back towards Ruby.

"Uh, should we be worried?"

“Huh?”

“Well you said you need dust rounds so I figured there must be a rather large Grimm out there that requires you to use Dust rounds” he replied in a slightly worried analytical tone. “So uh… Should we be worried?”

Ruby let out a sigh, this wasn’t the first worry-wart she’d been paired up with, and Atlas had nothing but worriers honestly. ”No kid I just wanna try out some of the new fire dust rounds, no need to be worried”

The kid relaxed at those words and the tension seemed to leave his body, he turned again and began marching off.

“Although” Ruby interjected before he could get too far. “Even if there was a particularly nasty Grimm out there, you worrying would only bring it closer, so I’d be inclined to lie and tell you that there was no Grimm there. Right?”

That made the Kid freeze and although Ruby couldn't see his eyes behind the standard-issue Atlas helmet, she could tell he must be both confused and afraid. She decided to give him a friendly grin to try and alleviate some of his fears. As the kid left she turned back to her work

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

_Why do I torment these Atlas soldiers_? She thought to herself _It wasn’t their fault Yang flipped out_

Ruby adjusted her aim to be just a bit more painful than efficient. _Still, they're hunting her and she is your sister. And you hunted her. And you HURT her harder than any of them did!_

**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!**

Ruby ripped out her empty magazine and slammed in another. She’d have to focus on her work and keep Yang out of her mind, it made her shots sloppy anyway.

“Ruby?” came a small voice from the base of her tree, it sounded like the kid but then again her ears were ringing from the shots.

"No kid my rapid-fire is no need to worry either" She shouted down the tree not looking away from her scope. "In fact, there is no reason to worry ever really on a Grimm hunt, it makes them hunt after you that much harder. So you better have those dust rounds I asked for"

"Uh, Ruby look down from the tree" the voice sounded a bit more familiar to Ruby now and she peeked over her tree branch and looked down to see a toe-headed young man with 2 sea blue eyes looking back up at her. Those were such sad tired eyes.

“Jaune!”

Ruby flung herself from her perch and hit the ground with a quick roll, springing up in front of the leader of team JN_R. Jaune, to his credit, didn't flinch at Ruby's sudden advance. Over the past few years, the leaders of the only two incomplete teams in beacon had become quite close with one another and both could sympathize with the other's plight. While Ruby had lost a team-mate in disgrace Jaune had lost one in glory but both were left vulnerable. Ruby greeted Jaune with the only legitimate smile she’d had in the past few days.

“So Jauney boy what brings you out to my neck of the woods?” Jaune twitched at Ruby’s use of his old nickname, he began scratching the side of his head. He was nervous and Ruby knew it. Ruby stretched out a hand and gripped Jaune’s shoulder as if to steady him. “Jaune what is it?”

“Yeah cut to the chase, it’ll be easier that way” Jaune muttered to himself. Ruby gave him the concerned look she always gave him when he did that. Jaune looked back at Ruby and his posture straightened instantly, the red-head pulled her hand away from his shoulder. “Yang’s resurfaced Rubes”

Ruby felt her blood freeze, there was the scent of iron in her nose, the memory of her shooting her sister and the shout of hatred Yang had spat at her. Ruby was conscious that she was shaking and twitching right in front of Jaune, she could twitch and shake at super-speed so it must have been something to see from the outside. She wanted to scream and shout but instead settled for saying. "What do we know?"

“Team SSSN saw her while in Vacuo, Sage got put in the hospital when they tried to catch her” Jaune pulled up his scroll, giving the screen a little flick. “, And apparently she threw a building at them when she was cornered”

The entire forest seemed to vanish, the birds, the wind, all that existed was Ruby’s heartbeat and Jaune’s voice. Her heart was a drum and her breathing was a gale but still, Jaune’s words cut through the cacophony. "She's been picking fights with both Atlesian forces and the White Fang, So right now is a crucial moment, Ruby? Ruby!?”

It took her a second to even feel Jaune’s hand on her arm, she turned to him sure to bury all her inner turmoil down beneath a layer of false calm. She gave him a weak smile. “hmm, oh yeah crucial in what sense?”

“Bounty hunters, Sun gave me this lead as soon as he could but it won’t be long before Bounty hunters know”

Ruby fiddled with Crescent Rose's scope for a second, just thinking till at last, she said. "So we need to get out there now and find her ourselves before the Bounty hunters, Atlas or the WF find her first" with that last word she unfurled her Scythe in all its glory and slung it over her shoulder. "Get the rest of the team we leave no later than tomorrow" then Ruby marched away from beacon's borders back towards the school and back towards the rest of her team.

Back towards Yang.

* * *

**Blake**

There was work to do and Blake was the girl to do it. This was a simple job, a snatch and grab type job that Atlas and the government of Vale were always requesting after the Vytal festival incident. One informant here, another Terrorist leader there, all work that Blake could do alone.

This particular target was going to be at the docks tonight, some sort of meeting or another, it took a bit of investigation here, but Blake was able to find out the location and time that this meeting would take place. This fore-knowledge granted her the right amount of time to find the perfect vantage point, in this case atop a crane meant to move the enormous shipping containers. The location itself was what could poetically be described as a valley between the shipping containers, the containers were stacked higher and higher the further back they were from this central void.

No one had arrived yet so Blake decided to go over her gear in the meantime. She had her gear sorted into 3 groups; uniform attachments, Auxiliary items, and Weapons. Of uniform attachments, she had added many upgrades to her uniform over the years and had even let Ruby help her with some enhancements to it. There were impact dampeners on the soles of her shoes, ballistics cloth was sown throughout the uniform and a set of goggles capable of binocular vision had been attached to the uniforms new hood. Stylistically her operating outfit had become sleeker and less fashionable, the heels were gone, a hood was added and all white on the outfit was replaced with grey.

Blake grabbed one of the packs on her belt and began sorting through the equipment within, this was where she kept her Auxiliary gear. Most gear counted as Auxiliary were small things meant to restrain or quiet people Blake had bagged. She had Handcuffs, a quick-tightening gag, some smoke bombs, and a voice throwing device. The Bombs were the size of grapes and possessed an aura-activated 10-second timer. The Voice throwing device was the size of a closed scroll, with a magnet on one side, it could be activated remotely by a scroll or other such device, Blake had programed taunts into this one. Satisfied with the status of her auxiliary gear Blake gave a curt nod to herself and packed it away. Finally, she began disarming to better inspect her weapons.

Dust boosted throwing daggers, electrified Bolas and finally her main-stay Gambol shroud. Her sword gun was a fine piece of machinery and had a purity to it.

_No Jams, quick to accept tweaking_ Blake thought as she cycled through Gambol Shroud’s forms and checked all its separate parts. _Adaptable to any and all situations, the perfect weapon_

Her other weapons were well and good, they served their purposes but they could be used, broken and lost, and Blake wouldn’t bat an eye. Gambol Shroud was a different matter. It was a mirror of how she treated people now. Since they Vytal festival “incident” Blake had become even more suspicious and isolationist than she had been before. All that effort of the 2 semesters prior had vanished when Yang did what she did. After Yang Blake pushed away almost everyone and her paranoia ran rampant, she pushed away everyone except Ruby. Only Ruby could see how Yang had managed to hurt Blake, and bless her soul Ruby was the kind of person who helped herself by helping others. Ruby was Gambol Shroud, reliable, adaptable and understanding of Blake.

_It would be ironic if I lost focus now I’m trying to repay Ruby’s kindness and I was getting forgetful recalling it_

Three men had entered into the clearing, armed with the standard gear that used to be sold by Junior Xiong. Between the larger men was a short fat troll-looking man with a scar running from his left eye to his left ear. That was her target, the atlas military wanted him for interrogation, and concerning… some crime or another. Blake had become unconcerned with the why of her jobs lately. Hey if it didn’t affect her abilities to do the jobs why should anyone care?

Blake stood up on the crane, it was a long fall, several stories in fact, but the fall was of no concern for Blake. She lifted one foot and stepped forward, off the crane. She plummeted and a lighting fast speed, fast enough to bust her aura and break her legs, but she'd done this a dozen times before and had found a way to deal with it safely. As she struck the concrete ground her semblance activated, a copy of her made of shadow and smoke took the strike and momentum and Blake rolled away from the fall completely un-harmed and trailing illusory smoke behind her.

Now that she was a couple of stories closer Blake was able to get a good look at her target, the man was a slob he was huge and none of it was muscle. 

Blake pulled down her goggles and pressed a button at the base of her skull. Small markers began appearing on the surface of the goggles feeding Blake information about the three men in front of her: their height, weight and the model of weapons at their disposal. Reaching into her pack Blake retrieved two of the throwing daggers and inserted a vial of pale blue dust into the handle of the daggers. Readying a dagger in each hand Blake took a deep breath before standing up.

_No mistakes, no excess_ the mantra repeated in her head _No mistakes, no excess_ and then she threw them, the first guard was struck in the shoulder and his whole arm was swallowed up into a huge block of ice, the 2nd guard was struck in the upper thigh and his leg became encased in ice as well.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” they shrieked. As they said that Blake burst out of the shadows and sprinted towards the target, gambol shroud gripped in her hand. The 2nd guard managed to fire a shot or two at Blake whose aura weathered the bullets without issue problem.

Her target flinched at her fast approach and lifted his arms as if the protect himself from an oncoming assassin, Blake instead wrapped Gambol Shroud around his lifted arms and began dragging him along with her, using not an not insignificant amount of aura she managed to heft the fat informant over a shipping crate and through the docking section.

Another successful mission, few challenges and now unnecessary damage. The target squealed a bit but by the time she was out of the docking zone she’d thrown a quick fastening gag over his mouth and his mewling turned to muffled shrieks.

“Some quiet is always appreciated” Blake mused as she reached the edge of the docks, she began to relax when something green flashed by her. She froze in place Gambol shroud tightly gripped in her hand, slowly she set down her target and replaced Gambol with her quick cuffs. The target tried to shuffle away but Blake knew he wouldn’t be able to crawl too far away from her while she investigated.

The flash appeared again and Gambol shroud shot out of Blake’s hands to wrap around Ren’s upraised forearm, he had both his hands up in a placating gesture. Blake’s grip did not relax when she saw who it was, Ren might have once been considered a friend by Blake but Yang had shattered any sense of trust Blake might once have had.

“Ren”

“Blake” there was no accusation in his voice, no anger it was shockingly calm and unconnected, he made it seem like the whole situation was something he expected and was unfazed by. Ren took a deep breath and Blake tensed thinking he was preparing to strike out but all Ren did was let out a long sigh. “Yang was spotted in Vacuo, Ruby needs your help”

That made Blake’s grip slacken, Yang had been found, there were always rumors but this sounded definitive, why else would Ruby call her in? She gave Gambol Shroud a flick and it disentangled itself from Ren’s arm. Blake holstered he katana and retrieved her target, the fat bugger had barely crawled 12 feet from her and Ren.

She and Ren gave each other a silent look before leaving. There was work to be done.

* * *

**Weiss**

The training floor was pristine, its black metal surface was polished to a mirror shine and the dim blue illumination throughout never flickered or buzzed too loudly. The room had one door and when the door closed it was as if there were no exits to the room, it became a perfect black box. Similar doors and hatches were hidden along the room’s surface, hiding robotic soldiers, turrets and in rare situations Grimm. It was the perfect training room fit for the perfect Heiress.

“Perfect might be stretching it” Weiss mumbled as she surveyed the room from its center. “Sufficient fits better”

Weiss' uniform had changed only slightly, she had removed the sleeve and shoulder part of her dress, it barely served as a form of protection anyway, besides she loved the feeling of the wind on her skin. She removed Mrytlenaster from her belt and gave the rapier a couple of swings before smiling at the weapons perfect balance, it's weight never changed but it was always nice to stop and appreciate the weapon's quality.

_Now this is perfect_

Weiss slashed the floor with the Rapier, sparks shot out and the dim blue lights turned a shade of red. The Training room had been activated.

Weiss took a deep breath, held Mrytlenaster in one hand and concentrated, her mind focused on a key moment from her past, a Glyph appeared at her wrist and glowed pale blue. "Breath Weiss, Breath ignore all else around you" doors opened and old atlas security robots jumped out of the holes, brandishing an assortment of weapons. Weiss didn't have time for clockwork soldiers, she was concentrating here.

The training droids got closer and closer and the Glyph spun faster and faster until there was a burst of white-blue light and Weiss was holding and enormous Broadsword in her off-hand, the blue sword seemed to vibrate in her palm. She gave the sword a few swings and found it almost weightless in her hand. A grin split Weiss' face and she turned towards the oncoming machines.

_Perfect_

The first of the mechanical soldiers rushed at Weiss, armed transformed into a sword. The machine was rushing at Weiss’s back, the Heiress spun around quickly and cut the legs out from the android before quickly spearing its head through with Mrytlenaster, then the rest of the training room erupted into chaos. Weiss’ two hands were moving in completely different fashions, the spectral sword slashed in arcing cuts and sweeping strikes, slashing out in wave after wave while Mrytlenaster struck out quickly and precisely, poking in and out avoiding slashes altogether. There was a pattern to this dance of blades, the glyph blade would damage many machines at once and her rapier would strike lethal blows against those that failed to fall to the Glyph blade.

_Like 2 partners working in concert, 2 vastly different styles finding a balance._

Weiss sped around the battlefield swinging and striking as she went, finding a perfect balance between force and precision. Ever since Yang left Weiss has had to handle being the team's support and the team's heavy.

_Ruby hadn’t asked that of me, but I owed it to her_

Suddenly one of the machines rushed in and struck Weiss in the ribs damaging her aura. Weiss snarled at the attack, this would not do! Weiss struck the machine with an upward cut from the Glyph-blade’s short edge, then another upwards cut with the long edge and as the machine stumbled back Weiss struck its neck with a wide swing. The machine’s head popped off but before it could strike the ground Mrytlenaster was thrust through the head and caught it.

“That’s fine” Weiss spoke aloud. “There must always be room for error” she looked into the gleaming blade of Mrytlenaster. “No one’s perfect”

Weiss struck her rapier into the floor and snapped her fingers. Instantly the remaining Atlas machines froze in their spots, bowed to Weiss and returned to their compartments. Smaller more weasel-like machines came and retrieved the shattered remains of those slain by Weiss. And again the room was clean, prim and proper. Perfect.

“Last exercise of the day” Weiss knelt on the ground and summoned a glyph around her feet, it swirled and spun at her feet shifting from black to gold and back again. Snowflakes and clockwork appeared and disappeared in the glyph. Weiss extended her hand and a pale white Glyph, the size of a dinner plate, appeared in front of her fingertip. With an extension of will the Greatsword emerged from the glyph, Weiss moved her hand forward through the magical marking to grip the handle of the glyph-blade.

As her hand passed through the snow blue marking it became encased in a glowing blue gauntlet. With a flick of her wrist, the glyph traveled down Weiss' arm building armor as it went. It stopped at her shoulder and Vanished and Weiss fought to maintain both the summoned gear and the glyphs beneath her. Summoning, gravity and time dilation, none of them were easy and she'd have to force herself to maintain all of them at once. 

Weiss took a deep breath and was preparing to let out a whistle, to initiate the final portion of her daily routine when the training chamber's doors slammed open. Weiss blew out her breath in a huff and turned to glare at the person who'd dare interrupt her training. She turned to see a pink woman looking around the room in open-mouthed wonder. Nora.

Weiss rested her hand on her hip and gently coughed towards the offensively pink woman. Nora didn’t seem to notice and was more concerned with the height of the training room’s ceiling.

“Woo, how tall is this place?” Nora’s voice was chipper, unfortunate since that ruined Weiss’ mood even further.

“What is it Nora?” the old Heiress demanding nature came in handy during these times. Weiss could be demanding in a way only being loaded could. “You’ve interrupted my training session so might as well spit it out”

Nora was able to draw her eyes from the ceiling and flinched when she met Weiss’ glare.

“Oh ummmmmm" Nora looked down at her shoes and avoided Weiss' gaze. Weiss huffed out an exasperated breath and was half tempted to smack Nora for wasting her time when the orange-haired girl mumbled something.

“What was that Nora? Do speak up” again she mumbled, Weiss let out a growl “Nora is you don’t mind either tell me what’s bothering you or let me-”

“Yang’s in Vacuo” Nora finally shouted at Weiss. The Glyph blade snapped in half. A chill descended over the training room, frost grew out from the corners and crevasse of the training room. “Uhhhhh, Ruby's reassembling the team to go track her down before the Atlas specialists find her and… uh, Weiss, my breath is frosting"

She turned to face the orange-haired huntress, she moved like a glacier but with less warmth. Nora met Weiss' gaze, it was a cold gaze but it was without anger or malice. With a flick of her wrist, the Glyph-blade reformed in her hand but larger than before. When Weiss spoke her voice was sharp.

“Nora let me finish this training session then ill join you and Ruby.”

“Ok Weiss sure thing” Nora slowly backed away from the heiress but before she could reach the door Weiss snapped her fingers and a huge gate opposite Nora opened up along the wall. From that opening an enormous machine stepped forth, spider-like in design with red lights tracing all around its body. This machine used to serve as security for Schnee dust transport but Weiss had managed to get her hands on one for training. Nora unfurled Magnhilde but before she could strike out at the machine Weiss’ collection of glyphs activated all once.

The Grav-glyph launched her towards the robot, the time-glyph granted her immense speed and her glyph-blade gave her power.

_Even under stress, my form must be perfect, especially with her I must be precise and perfect._

In an instant, she had launched more than 200 cuts and thrusts towards the mechanical spider, from the outside this might have looked like random strikes being unleashed in a torrent of rage but everything was precise. Each cut slashed at the weakest armor point or in the gaps of the armor. Each thrust was stabbed into each joint, into the most vital system. When Weiss Schnee touched the training room floor the machine was already crumbling apart.

She turned back to look at a dumb-founded Nora gripping Magnhilde in slack-jawed amazement. Weiss just walked past her and out of the training room. She didn't have time to pick Nora's jaw up off the floor she needed to support her leader and focus on accomplishing her mission: Find Yang.

_Yang won’t be happy to see us will she?_ Weiss mused. _Why would she be?_

"Nora!" Weiss shouted back into the training room, the storm madden sprinted out of the room towards Weiss, a grin plastered back on her face. "How'd we find out Yang's location?"

"Oh, Sun told us," Nora said with a chipper tone that came naturally to the thunder-child. She didn't seem too worried about the Yang situation, a good sign.

“Did he see her while he was on a job?”

“Yeah, she got into a fight with him and Sage. Yang ended up throwing a building at them and breaking Sage’s knee cap”

_Well that sounds exactly like Yang_

“…And Sun told us that Atlas specialists were on the way”

_Perfect!_

_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art is by Onefourthdork and like this fic, in general, the image came before the fic idea.


	6. Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang's reminiscence continues as she digs herself out of a grave

The Rubble beneath Yang’s grip gave way and she fell forward, landing chest-first on an upraised bit of stone. Over the hour of digging her aura had mended her broken rib back to being only fractured, but this fall had reduced her aura’s efforts back to nothing. She lay there for about a minute trying to hold in her scream. The pain was just so perfect especially right here and right now. Of course, she would bust herself in the bust as she was thinking of that moment with Weiss. Eventually, the pain subsided to the point Yang wasn’t worried about screaming, she opened her mouth and let out a light moan.

“ooooooowwwwwwwwwwww” the moan was breathless and hollow. Good better that than it being heard by whoever was also digging through the remains of the building. Yang kept her aura focused on healing her rib but tried to extend her senses once again to gain some idea of where she was at the moment. Her aura seemed to sputter at her attempts to coerce it to function like she wanted. It just got like this some times and she’d rather not direct her aura’s focus away from the very necessary healing.

“Well no helping it” she whispered.

With that, her semblance bloomed and her flaming hair illuminated the world around her with flicking ghost lights. As the golden glow spread across the room Yang saw that she had fallen into a subbasement and that the roof above her was made of rotting wood, various nick-nacks littered the room, some exercise equipment and some sort of religious praying corner, all were covered in cobwebs. Furthest away from Yang there was a heavy wooden door completely untouched.

_Whoever once lived here left a while ago_ Yang thought finally standing up after crawling for half an hour, her spine clicked as she stood to her full height. _That or they are really bad at cleaning_

Yang shuffled over to the door, breathing steadily, she tried the knob and grinned when it turned and opened without resistance. The grin died when she saw what was beyond the door; a whole bunch of rubble. Yang felt her blood boil.

_Contact mom _a voice in her head whispered.

“No” she hissed back, Raven could get her out of here in an instant but she was not going to be the weak link in her mother’s life, if she couldn’t literally dig herself out of a hole she had made, then she’d be weak. And if she was weak Raven might leave again. Yang cracked her knuckles focused her anger and began digging again, thinking back to other holes she had dug for herself.

* * *

**2 Years ago**

**There’s not going to be a next time, Blondie**

**CRACK!**

And then the world went to hell. That bastard Mercury was on the ground yelling in much-deserved pain and before Yang knew it she was surrounded by Atlas soldiers pointing guns at her.

“You don’t understand he attacked me” She pleaded with them. Looking at the retreating Mercury Yang saw that the girl Emerald was giving Yang a look that could kill an Ursa, Yang flinched at the glare. What had she done to make this woman look at her with such hatred? Mercury was shrieking, almost crying, for help and Yang’s satisfaction at that pain slowly became more and more replaced by confusion.

She glanced up at her team certain that they would be outraged by what was going on but all she saw on their faces was horror, her gaze shifted up to the jumbotron and saw something that was unreal: her just attacking Mercury unprovoked.

“That’s not what happened. I didn’t. He attacked me. What is going on?”

Yang pulled at her hair, trying desperately to make sense of everything, her breathing came in quick rapid breaths and the whole world became muffled. All that Yang could hear was her breathing and her heartbeat, she felt like screaming. Eventually, a muffled voice got through.

"Yang Xiao Long I said get down on the ground," said an atlas guard, he was slowly approaching her, left hand lifted and in front of him while his right was behind his back. Yang nodded as he approached lowered her arms and started to kneel on the ground.

_Yeah, _she thought _Just do what they say that'll sort this out_

Across the arena Emerald was keeping her focus on the 2 medical officers holding Mercury, it was rather difficult for her to manipulate two minds at once, but they kept looking away from Mercury, busily searching for the swiftest exit. As both officers glanced away from Mercury the perfect opportunity presented itself; an unstable Yang, an atlas soldier with his hand behind his back and a whole stadium of witnesses. She knew this would go against Cinder's plan but Emerald knew an opportunity when she saw one.

_Have fun with this Bimbo _Emerald sneered

Yang’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she saw the atlas soldier pull out a cruel-looking knife from behind his back and flash her a sadistic grin. In an instant instinct took over and Yang mule kicked the officer in the groin, spun around grabbed his right wrist and smashed her forehead right into his mask, snarling as she did. The atlas soldiers around her opened fire and the last of Yang’s Aura splinted and the Atlas rounds scrapped against her scalp and back, finally she let go of the wrist and raised both hands above her head.

“I SURRENDER, I SURRENDER!” She shouted at them. The shooting stopped but no gun was lowered. “He had a knife, look!”

Yang pointed towards the downed soldier's right hand where instead of a knife lay a pair of handcuffs. Yang felt her eyelid twitch; that wasn't right, that's not what she saw, He must have switched them out while Yang was taking fire.

“That, that’s not” she muttered when something hard hit the back of her head and everything went Dark.

* * *

When Yang woke up she was in a cell, chained to a wall and cot. Ember Celica was missing. She was alone. Outside the cell she could hear two people shouting at one another, she thought she could make out the general’s voice as one of them. This was bad, really really bad. How could she have mistaken a set of handcuffs for a knife? Why did that Atlas guard grin at her? Why did no one see Mercury try to kill her? Was that even real?

_Yes, it had to be real_ Yang decided _The knife could have been a mistake, but I’m sure Mercury was after me_.

Standing up she pulled at the chain and found that it allowed her to walk from wall to wall of her cell. There was a small window on the wall of the cell, it had classical metal bars and looked out onto the forest of forever fall, across from that was a door, also made from iron bars, leading into some sorta antechamber.

“This isn’t high tech enough to be from Atlas” she mumbled, examining her chains more closely, they were dust forged. “I’m in a Vale prison cell then”

The shouting outside increased in volume, well the General's voice increased in volume, his debate partner's voice remained the same volume throughout. Yang's mouth gaped as it hit her. It was Ozpin. Ozpin must have insisted she'd be placed in a Vale cell instead of an atlas cell and he was getting chewed out on her behalf.

_Wow, never would have thought Ozpin cared_

Suddenly the shouting stopped and the room became unbearably silent. Yang never liked silence, she always preferred heavy rocking beats or the explosive sounds of fighting. Silences left her with her thoughts. Who won that argument? Does it matter who won? Is the general going to take me to some Atlas prison? Can Oz stop him? Will Oz stop him?

Luckily the door opened before Yang could come up with more worrying questions. Yang let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, as Ozpin, rather than the general, entered the cell’s antechamber. There was always something slightly off about Ozpin, like when he talked to you, he knew exactly how to make you do what he wanted you to do and yet regretted making you do it. He came off like a sad puppeteer. Yang gave him a little wave, he didn’t return the gesture.

"Hey professor," Yang said trying to restrain the flood of questions in her head. "What's going to happen to me?"

“Hello Miss Xiao Long, you shall be kept here for the time being while the evidence is being compiled against you.”

“So are you here to get my side of the story?”

“No” Ozpin paused for a moment “but I would like to hear it”

So Yang told him, every detail she could remember and was certain she didn't exaggerate or embellish as she would occasionally do after a fight, this had to exact.

“… After I saw him grin at me I struck out at him” Yang’s gaze shifted down to her lap where her fingers were knitted together. “My Aura was low he could have done serious damage to me” she took a deep breath before looking up at Ozpin. “But I’m not sure what I saw then was real” there was warble in her voice when she said it, it was a hard thing to admit.

“What about the Mercury attack?” Ozpin asked meeting her eyes with a cold gaze “do you doubt what you saw then?”

Yang wiped some dust out of her eyes, just dust nothing else, and her glare hardened. "No," she said with more finality than she thought she could muster "I know what I saw and I know what he tried to do" Anger was in her voice and she did not try to hide it, she had a right to be angry, she was innocent!

A look of sadness spread over Ozpin’s face, he seemed to lean on his cane a little more than he did a second ago. “That’s not what the video footage and millions of witnesses saw that day.”

Anger flared in Yang, she did what you were supposed to do and was honest, even left in her own misdeeds, and she sat up from her cot and sprang at Ozpin. HOW DARE HE LOOK ON HER WITH PITY! SHE WAS RIGHT!

"Then they were wrong!" she snarled at her headmaster, her eyes blazing red. "Because I felt the wind of his boot coming right at my face"

Ozpin didn’t even flinch, his look of sadness instead became even more pitiable than before. That change did not help mitigate Yang’s anger.

“Your team has asked to see you” That did put a crack in Yang’s fury.

“What?” she took a step back from the cell door, though her eyes remained Red. She was unsure if she wanted her team to see her like this.

“The general took some convincing but eventually he agreed that you should be allowed visitors” Ozpin held up a finger. “So long as a two conditions were met, the first being that only 1 visitor at a time and the second being that all visits were to be monitored”

“I don’t really get a say in this do I”

“Actually you do, you can choose whether or not you accept visitors”

_He thinks he’s funny doesn’t he?_ The thought darted through Yang’s head and she was shocked at her anger towards Ozpin. _Today has been emotional_.

Yang took a deep breath before finally saying “Send them in”

Ozpin gave her a curt nod and left the antechamber. Yang was only alone for a scant few seconds before a red flash sped into the room with rose petals trailing behind her. Ruby! She grabbed onto the bars.

“Yang what’s going on? What happened to you? Why’d you hit that guy?” the questions shot out at an alarming rate.

"Ruby, Ruby! Calm down I'll answer what I can" That got the hopping redhead to finally settle down, Yang sat cross-legged in front of the cell door and explained what she could to her sister. As she went Ruby became calmer than Yang had ever seen her before and she would only interject to ask certain questions. She never asked Yang if she was sure, she just trusted her and Yang was thankful for that.

“Was there anything about the Guard that you remember?” Ruby asked Yang when she had finished her story. “Do you remember what he looked like?”

"Dude looked the same as all the Atlas soldiers do" Yang sighed running her fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry for letting down team RWBY, hopefully, Pyrrha can snag Beacon the gold”

Ruby started scratching the back of her neck and avoided Yang’s gaze. She was hiding something. Yang locked her eyes to the center of Ruby’s face to try and force her younger sister to focus.

“Ruby? What happened?”

“What do you mean?” she replied, still avoiding Yang’s Gaze.

“I mean; what are you not telling me” Ruby seemed to deflate as Yang spoke and finally she met her sister’s gaze.

“Beacon has been disqualified from the Vytal tournament” That hit Yang like a Boarbatusk straight to the guts. The whole school, she'd let the whole school down. "After the incident, some of the other headmasters and a few of the atlas officials decided Beacon had overstepped a boundary and after the whole mess with Grimm in the middle of Vale… Well, they thought that any more incidents might cause more panic than Beacon could handle."

"They think Beacon is filled with sadists, don't they?" Ruby's shoulders fell at that, the room got quiet and a thought passed through Yang's mind.

_Oz has been taking the heat since the Vale explosion and I just made the situation worse_.

“So why did Ozpin drop by?” Ruby chirped trying to divert Yang’s train of thought. She really was kind for doing that. Yang decided it would be more productive to oblige her sister, so she stood up and began pacing the room.

“Dunno, he kinda let me lead the conversation” she scratched her chin thinking back to his visit, he only watched her, he never said anything or asked anything. Odd. “Ruby I’m only allowed one visitor at a time, so who else is waiting to talk”

“Oh just Blake”

Just Blake. Not Weiss. Where was she? Where was Qrow? These questions briefly sped through Yang's mind. _Maybe they were detained for questioning_ Yang thought trying to keep hopeful.

"How's the rest of the team holding up," Yang asked. Ruby let out a puff of breath.

“Well Blake’s been rather quiet lately after she and Weiss got into an argument, Weiss herself got rather angry towards the end of that shouting match and…” Ruby paused and bit her inner cheek trying to find the words. “… and I was pretty sure she was about to attack Blake when she got a call on her scroll and stormed out.”

Well, that was shocking, Weiss rarely got this heated and she never came close to hitting one of her teammates, not even Blake during that whole White-fang argument. What made her so upset?

“What were they arguing about?” Yang asked hoping for a different answer than the one that was flitting through her head. Ruby took a deep breath before answering.

“Whether or not you were guilty”

Nora could have been struck by lightning, marched into the room and slammed Magnhild right into Yang's face and that wouldn't have hurt her as much as that sentence did. Either her partner thought she was a rabid dog or her… close-friend thought that instead. Honestly, she wasn’t sure which one she should hope for. Her eyes were welling up with tears and she could smell iron in her nose, she wasn’t sure if she was more angry or sad. Nope, she was definitely more sad she decided as a couple of tears ran down her cheek and her breathing became blubbering.

“Yang?”

"I-I'm F-fine Ruby" Dust she could barely get out a whole word between the tears, Ruby stuck her arm through the bars as far as she could and held Yang's hand in hers. She was warm and her grip stabilized Yang, grounded her and eventually, Yang was able to compose herself.

“Th-thanks Ruby," she said wiping tears from her eyes, she could always count on Ruby, come hell or high water. Ruby gave Yang a warm smile in return that reminded Yang of Summer Rose and suddenly everything seemed, if not alright then at least, better. After a quiet minute of Ruby holding her, she let go.

"I'm going to let Blake come in ok?" she finally said, maintaining a soft smile as she spoke. Yang sniffled one last time before nodding to Ruby. The redhead nodded back as she left the antechamber and Yang was left alone again.

"Breath, Breath" she mumbled to herself waiting for Blake to enter and began stretching her limbs. "focusing on fitness keeps me from blubbering like a baby" she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing and the strain on her limbs, there was a knot in her left shoulder. How did that get there? She’d need someone else to work that out for her…

“…Yang” the voice was soft and quiet, Yang almost didn’t hear it. She opened her eyes and there was Blake sitting in a chair in front of the bars. Yang let her arms fall down by her sides and gave Blake a weak smile.

"Hey Blake" Blake remained silent, Yang sat down on the cot and ran her hand through her hair, trying to think of how to continue, normally leading the conversation came naturally to her. "Did Ozpin tell you what I saw?"

Blake shook her head.

“Well what happened was…” and Yang told her story for the 3rd time that day. She didn’t look Blake in the eye as she said it, too afraid to see the doubt in her partner’s face. So long as she looked away she could live with the illusion that Blake didn’t doubt her. “… I’m not sure if I imagined the knife or not, but the rest is true, you believe me right Blake?”

At last, Yang looked up at her partner's face and saw that now Blake was the one not meeting her gaze, her dark hair was obscuring her face and her gaze was focused on the ground rather than Yang. She took a deep breath and finally spoke up.

“I want to believe you”

Well, this just wasn't yang's day when it came to avoiding shocking phrases and this one hit just as hard as the previous 2. The fact that Weiss had gone to such lengths to defend Yang didn't ease the pain.

“Blake?” she could hear the tears in her own voice as she spoke, dust she sounded like she was pleading. Blake remained silent for the longest time before taking a deep breath and finally saying.

"I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry. At first, they were accidents, then it was self-defense. Before long, even I began to think he was right.” Her eyes finally came up to meet Yang’s, her stare was hard and there was a bit of anger in her look. “This is all just... very familiar.”

That hung in the air for what felt like an eternity. Blake seemed angry at Yang like Yang was betraying her like this previous friend. But Yang was telling the truth! She'd never done anything like this before! SHE WASN'T A PART OF A DUST FORSAKEN TERRORIST GROUP! Yang could feel her sadness being overtaken by anger, her tears she hadn't noticed she'd shed began to fizzle on her cheeks. In a blink, her eyes turned Red as she looked into Blake's face. That made the Faunus girl retreat back from the blonde’s glare.

Yang's breathing was ragged, she'd had a hard day and it was difficult for her to not feel abandoned sometimes, finally, the words came out as ragged as her breathing "He. Attacked. ME!" she put more punch than she intended on that last word, but at this point, she didn't care. She stood up and marched towards the cell door and stopped as far as her chains would allow, Blake stood up to keep Yang from looking down on her. The bow on Blake's head twitched slightly.

"Blake, I've never lied to you," She said trying her best to keep the anger out of her voice. The results were mixed. "I'm willing to admit I might have been wrong about the knife and the smirk, but I'm not wrong about Mercury!"

“That doesn’t make it better” Blake shouted at Yang. “Your first response wasn’t to dodge or grapple with him. No, Yang, your first response was to knowingly CRIPPLE HIM!” Blake’s yellow eyes were glistening as she looked into Yang. “I’ve sparred with you Yang, don’t tell me you couldn’t dodge the attack. Your first response to any threat is extreme violence!”

Yang felt her glare falter slightly and her eyes drifted away from Blake’s every second or so.

“What did you expect me to do?” Yang spat in retort, though her fury had diminished “Let him Attack me”

“That’s the point Yang!” Blake shot back, her own passion undiminished. “You think crippling a kid was the only way to save yourself. That’s what Adam thought and that’s what allowed him to justify doing everything he did!” Blake’s hand shot through the bars and her finger pointed right at Yang’s face, she flinched back from the finger and finally looked Blake in the eye again. There were tears in Blake’s eyes and streaming down her face. “You need to realize what you did was wrong, regardless of who did what?”

Blake lowered her finger, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and started walking towards the door. As she reached it she said in a strained quiet voice. “I can’t go through this again, Yang”

And then she left. Yang was alone again. The room was emptier than it was the last two times she had been left alone in the room, there was a void left in the air by Blake's last words to Yang. The guilt was just settling in when Yang let out a roar, grabbed the end of her cot and flung the cot across the Cell. Rage was easier than guilt and by dust, she had earned herself a tantrum.

She screamed, pulled at her chains, bent the metal of her own cot and hammered her fist against the wall until her aura broke and she bloodied her knuckles. One Atlas soldier peaked into the room and Yang had shot him a crimson glare. Little rat retreated back out of the antechamber without a word, leaving Yang to her furious passion. Turning up towards the cameras in the antechamber Yang screamed.

“I HOPE YOU’RE HAVING FUN WATCHING THIS IRONWOOD!” She frothed at the mouth as she spoke “AND I HOPE THAT LITTLE SHIT MERCURY IS LAUGHING IT UP WHERE-EVER HE IS”

With that Yang marched to where the chains were hooked to the walls and slammed her forehead into the wall, letting out one last shriek.

_Damn, that felt good_ she thought to herself as she flopped onto the floor and closed her eyes. Sleep took her quickly.

* * *

**Dream**

Yang was falling, from the top of Beacon tower, again. This dream was a common one for her and she eventually just learned to accept it and enjoy the plummet. She was freer here than she had been in that cell. She spun through the air and dragged her fingers along the wall of the tower as she fell, the tower started to crumble at her touch and the stone it was built of roared and melted away. She smiled at the breaking building and floated away, the dream was sticking to what she had come to expect from this dream and some stability in her life was certainly welcome and then there was a black flash. 

There wasn’t supposed to be a black flash in this dream, Yang frowned at the inconsistency and tried to pursue. The flash appeared again and she was able to track it this time. It was… a bird; a crow or a raven. The Bird flew close to Yang’s face and looked at her with a red eye, Yang blinked at it surprised by its presence and then it spoke.

"I like what you did with that Mercury kid," it said in a woman's voice, a voice similar to her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the input spread this around if you can I appreciate every share


	7. Raven's in My Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang has some time to herself in the cell and has an interesting dream

Well, this certainly was strange. Yang's dreams were usually consistent, especially this dream. This dream was the one she had every time she got stressed and it never had a talking bird in it. She tried to grab the bird, but it flew out of her reach.

“Hey what are you doing?” the bird cawed at her in that weirdly familiar voice. “It’s rude to grab at people”

“You’re a bird, this is a dream and you’re not supposed to be here” Yang pointed at the bird in what she hoped was an accusatory manner, it was hard to be accusatory when falling. “Out of place dream birds don’t get to complain about me being rude in my dream” Yang stuck her tongue out at the bird to accentuate her point.

Somehow, someway the bird managed to roll its eyes at her.

“You are a frustrating child.” It spoke with a huff. The bird turned away from Yang and began to fly away “I knew this was a waste of time”

"Wait!" Yang shouted at the fleeing bird. Why had she done that? Why did she call for the bird? The blackbird banked and flew back to the falling girl. "I'm sorry. I've been rude and I've had a rough day but, my dad told me manners are important. So I'm sorry dream bird"

“Just like Tai” the bird muttered to itself

“So are you like my subconscious?” Yang figured since it knew about her dad, approved of what she did to mercury and sounded like her. Yang reasoned that this bird must be a part of her mind somehow.

The bird let out a laugh, it was harsh and gave Yang the tiny impression that it was laughing at her, but for some reason, Yang felt like laughing along with it. The blonde huntress let a little chuckle escape and it was followed by a barrage of giggles. 

_What a strange sight, _Yang thought _a raven and huntress laughing in the sky_

"No Yang I'm not" the bird replied, "Why did you attack Mercury Black?"

The dreamscape shifted at that name, storm clouds rolled in, beacon tower collapsed and thunder could be heard. The sound of thunder was tinged with the subtle noise of bones cracking. Yang balled her hands into fists, turning her knuckles white.

“Cause he attacked me” she spat out avoiding the bird’s gaze “You know the story”

“That’s not what I asked” the bird replied moving through the sky to face Yang. “There was an assortment of things you could have done rather than attack him. So I repeat myself, WHY did you attack him?”

Blake’s judgmental face appeared across the dream horizon. Again Yang spun away from the bird and again it returned to her field of view. _WHY DID I DO IT_ echoed in her head, again and again, every time the Raven, Crow or whatever it was locked eyes with her. And as she turned away, the dream beacon swirled and turned to sand blowing in the wind. She was trapped in a Technicolor snow globe and Ruby was shaking it at Mach 4. 

_WHY DID I DO IT? WHY DID NO ONE SEE IT? AM I A VIOLENT PERSON? IS BLAKE RIGHT TO BE ANGRY? WHY? _She gripped her head running her fingers through her long blonde locks as the world grew more and more chaotic. _I COULD HAVE RUN, I COULD HAVE BLOCKED WHY DID I ATTACK?_

Suddenly the world stopped spinning, 2 hands gripped either side of Yang's face and she was looking into red eyes hidden behind a Grimm mask. The Bird's voice echoed out from the mask. "Why did you do it, Yang?"

“Because no one gets to attack me!” She shouted at the mask. “Because anyone who tries that with me will get what’s coming to them! And because if I dodged or blocked or did any of that crap, I’d BE WEAK!” and like that the dam burst.

Hot tears streamed down Yang's face, she was sobbing and yet she felt relieved. Never in her life had she allowed herself to admit that not even in her dreams. Her mother leaving her, Summer dying, having to take care of Ruby, all of it she knew that all those things had taken some sort of power from her. She was too weak to help Summer. She had to focus on taking care of Ruby because if she didn’t she was worried she wouldn’t be strong enough not to end up like her dad. **She was so weak her mother left her**. She didn’t want to feel weak, she couldn’t let herself be weak. Suddenly her plummeting descent slowed down and she felt arms wrapped around her holding her close, she looked up and saw the red eyes behind the Grimm mask looking down on her.

“Shhhhhhhh," the mask said as it stroked her hair. "You did the right thing, Yang, you did the right thing"

Dust it felt good to hear that, everything here felt good actually; the hair stroking, the holding, all of it felt right. Yang had struggled her whole life with the fear of cutting loose and to finally be told she’d been right for doing it, well it was a weight off her shoulders. She’d confessed her deepest sin and it was brushed off as nothing to feel guilty about. Yang was at peace.

Then the sounds of the real world intruded on the dream. The dream world started to fade and dream beacon flashed like eyelids fluttering. She was waking.

“Please” She wept, holding tighter to the Grimm mask gripping her fading body. “I don’t want to wake from this dream”

The mask stroked her hair again calmly unaware of its impending nonexistence.

"It'll be ok I'll be back tomorrow night," The mask said with a calm voice.

“Wait who…”

* * *

**The Cell**

“..are you?” Yang awoke on the cold floor of her Beacon cell, her hand reaching upwards towards where the mask had been. The mask was gone, everything was gone. Yang ran her fingers through her hair and felt the phantom brushing, but nothing more. She was alone again.

And yet despite the fact that she was the only person in the room, it didn’t feel as empty as it had been when she fell asleep. Yang couldn’t put her finger on why that was or what had changed to make her feel not so alone. Guilt made the space empty and Yang had lost most of her guilt over the deed. She was Yang Xiao Long and she had no reason to feel guilty for not wanting to be weak.

"Thanks, bird" Yang mumbled to herself, taking careful precaution not to be heard by whatever atlas specialist was assigned to her. They could record her conversations all they liked, but her dreams were her own. Yang took a deep breath and set to work repairing her trashed cell.

As Yang finished repairing her damaged cot she heard the sound of the antechamber door opening. She didn’t look into the antechamber at first hoping that the longer she looked away the higher chance it would be Weiss finally come to see her. That hope died as the smell of alcohol hit her right in the nose.

“Hey fire-cracker” his voice was low and there was a hint of disappointment in his words. Yang was glad it wasn’t pity at least.

“Hey Qrow” she responded adding a jovial lilt to her response

She looked up at her gangly uncle standing right in front of the cell’s door. He had a flask in one hand and a serious look on his face. Looks like he was buying into the whole ‘Yang just attacked this Mercury for no reason’ theory. When he spoke his voice came out gravelly and rough but his normal hints of laughter were missing.

“So why’d you do it?”

"So I wouldn't be weak," Yang said instantly, she was done buying everyone's delusion that Mercury was innocent and she was sick of answering this question. No more in-depth explanations of her actions! They want an answer she'll give it to them. Qrow flinched at that response whether it was from the response itself or from how quickly she’d said it, Yang couldn’t tell. Yang stood up and locked eyes with her uncle. “He attacked me and I wasn’t going to let him get away with that” she didn’t shout when she said that but there was a certainty to her words.

“Huh crazy then” Qrow muttered giving Yang a disappointed look, Yang just returned a half-smile to her uncle and turned away from him lifting her hands in a “Guess so” manner.

“Who knows maybe I am” she said with laughter in her voice.

“This isn’t funny Yang” Qrow shot back “You attacked a helpless kid, you…”

“Helpless?” she interrupted her uncle “a trained huntsman in the finals of the Vytal festival shooting a kick right at my head” she dug her finger into her temple “Isn’t exactly 2 girls surrounded by Grimm in the wrong part of Patch Qrow.”

Yang could hear her uncle unscrewing the cap on his flash. "You sound just like your mother," he said before taking a gulp of whatever booze he hid in that flask. Yang felt a tingling at the mention of her mother but she also felt something else, something new; Pride. She turned back to face her uncle, he'd only lifted the flask slightly which meant he'd only drunk a little of the flask at that point. He was sober, well sober enough.

“What was she like Qrow?” Yang asked. Her uncle choked a bit on his booze before coughing it out.

“Who?” he managed to get out between fits of coughs, though he knew the answer already.

“You know who, dad doesn’t like to talk about her but I saw her in that picture of team STRQ” Yang locked eyes with her uncle. “What was my mom like?”

Qrow started to pace around the antechamber scratching at the back of his head. He fidgeted like he was uncomfortable but never took a sip from his flask. "Listen, kid, now might not be the best time for you to hear this"

“What’s the sentence for assaulting a military officer?”

“Uh I think 10 to 30 years”

“Qrow I’m not gonna wait 10 to 30 years to hear about who my mom was” again she managed to lock eyes, his red eyes were almost pink and reminded Yang of how hers looked when she got angry. “What was she like?”

"Her name was Raven," Qrow said with a sigh, he pulled up a chair and sat down in it hunched over the way he did when he was telling a particularly long story. “She was… Passionate about her beliefs and how she thought the world should work. She hit harder than anyone on our team. She had a personal code that a lotta people didn’t really agree with and that belief only got more intense the longer she worked, it put her at odds with Oz. When she vanished she cut ties with everyone but me, Summer and Tai. And when Summer died that dwindled down to just me and not even that much.”

Qrow took a sip from his flask. “She’s dangerous Yang. One of the most dangerous people I’ve ever had to deal with and certainly the most dangerous person I’ve ever worked with. She buys into the whole survival of the fittest nonsense.” Yang flexed her fingers. “She’s dangerous. She’s violent. She’s a criminal Yang” Yang cracked one of her knuckles.

“Well I guess we have a lot in common then”

Qrow seemed to deflate at that, his shoulders sagged and the life drained from his face. “Yang you can’t end up like Raven. You’re not her.” Yang let out a laugh, she had to chuckle at that statement. She gestured at the cell around her and the chains on her wrists.

“Uncle Qrow, everyone’s already saying I’m a dangerous violent criminal. The only difference between mom and me is that I’m in a cell and she isn’t.” Yang took a deep breath, she could feel her eyes turning red. She was getting too worked up about this, she needed to calm herself. _There’s no point in attacking Qrow_. She focused on her heart rate and tried to slow it down so her eyes shifted back to purple. “Qrow," she said eyes still closed "was there anything good about mom?'

Yang opened her eyes to see her uncle slowly turning the rings on his fingers instead of looking at her. He seemed lost in thought, his lips moved slightly as if he was replaying an old conversation to himself.

"She was passionate," he said voice tired and worn "It would take her a while to connect with people, but when she'd be devoted to that person. She was never a person for middle grounds, either she'd go to the ends of Remnant for you or you were dirt to her. She was one of the strongest people I’ve ever met and not someone you’d want against you in a fight." Qrow took a long pull from his flask. “I was going to tell you about how I got a lead on Raven after the festival was over but this whole Mercury business tells me that you seeing Raven would only lead to disaster”

Yang could feel her eyes bleeding red again. What right did Qrow have for keeping this from her? Since when was he allowed to decide what was best for her? Yang had to remind herself that despite how his choices might make her more furious than an Ursa on tree sap, this was coming from a place of love.

“That’s ok Qrow," she said through gritted teeth "most people will agree I'm not exactly well right now" Yang blew out a breath "Thanks"

“For what?”

“Telling me about mom” she gave her uncle a weak smile “It was nice to finally hear what she was like. Good and Bad”

Qrow stood up from his chair and gave Yang a small nod. She smiled back at him in return.

“Sure thing kid.” He started to walk towards the door but stopped just short of the door. “Goodbye Yang”

And he was gone.

* * *

Later in the day Ruby arrived to keep Yang Company, they discussed how the festival was going now that Beacon was no longer in the running, apparently Ruby was betting on either Penny or Sun to win. Yang knew her sister would favor Penny winning over Sun but would never admit it. Ruby was head over heels for that atlas girl but she just couldn’t see it. Yang could sympathize since she had her own Atlesian obsession.

“Where’s Weiss, Ruby?” Yang asked when a lull presented itself. She’d missed the Atlesian girl greatly and was worried about why Weiss hadn’t visited her yet. Ruby looked away from yang and down at her own boots.

"We haven't seen her since yesterday," Ruby eventually whimpered "we haven’t seen her since she and Blake had that argument."

_Oh, Weiss. What did I do?_

Yang could feel herself starting to shake, her breaths were coming in more ragged. She’d caused tension between Weiss and Blake and that had driven Weiss away. She might not feel guilty of Mercury but she certainly felt guilty over that.

Ruby reached through the bars and took Yang's hand in her own. Yang looked up at her little sister and saw a look on her face that reminded Yang of Summer; it was a combination of determination, kindness, and understanding. Ruby looked more and more like her mother everyday Yang realized.

“She’ll come back Yang” Ruby spoke with unwavering confidence “she won’t just leave you here, I'm sure of it”

_She’s sounding more and more like Summer too._

Yang couldn’t hide her smile and, even though she couldn’t reach through the bars to hug her sister she desperately wanted to. She settled for giving Ruby’s hand a gentle squeeze.

"Thanks, Ruby I needed that"

Then the door to the antechamber opened and Weiss stood within the door frame. Yang could feel her breath catch in her throat at the sight of her. It is often said that people don’t appreciate things until they lose them but sometimes it is the reverse; people never appreciate how much they love something they’ve lost till it’s found.

While Yang froze, Ruby sprung into movement, she rushed towards her lost partner with blinding speed and picked her up in her arms. Weiss let out a little-annoyed grunt at being manhandled by her leader and partner but eventually, the hard critical shell broke and she smiled, returning the hug to Ruby.

“YOU’RE BACK!” The little red girl yelled and she held her partner. “See Yang I told you she’d be back”

Yang gave her sister a soft smile. No matter how dark it got Ruby would shine on through.

A loud mechanical beep rung through the room followed by an equally mechanical voice saying “NO MORE THAN 2 VISITORS WITHIN THE CELL, ONE OF YOU VACATE THE PREMISES OR AUTHORITIES WILL BE ALERTED”

Ruby stuck her tongue out at the camera watching the cell but finally broke her embrace with Weiss.

“We’ll talk later ok?” Ruby said to Weiss before turning back towards Yang. “I’ll be back Sis, stay strong” and then the little red girl left the room leaving Weiss and Yang alone.

_Well as alone as we can be with this atlas tech watching us._

Yang looked at Weiss and all the warm feeling from the forest of single fall came flooding back to her. The Atlesian girl was beautiful and she was finally here. Yang was only semi-aware that she was grinning like an idiot up at Weiss and it was only when she registered Weiss' expression that her grin faltered. Weiss was frowning at her, in her expression there was Anger, accusation, and pity.

_No… no no… nonononono, Not you too Weiss _The thoughts raced through Yang’s head trying desperately to delude herself into believing something that wasn’t the case. She wanted to believe Weiss would believe her.

Weiss gently sat down on the chair in the antechamber glancing all around the room before locking eyes with Yang. She took a deep breath and Yang's heart sped up, panic took her and she dreaded to hear what she would say next.

“Are you ok Yang?” Weiss said aggression still very present in her words. “Those Manacles don’t exactly look comfortable. The Vale prisons are simply barbaric”

"Uh I'm alright," Yang said uncertainly though she allowed herself to feel a tiny bit of relief. "and the cuffs are pretty comfortable actually, magically so. In fact, I'd be safe in calling them Mana-cles” Weiss let out a derisive snort at that and Yang felt herself let out a little giggle. The first real-life laugh she’d had since the ordeal.

Yang let out a happy sigh and took a moment to just look at Weiss and appreciate her beauty. The Atlesian girl blushed redly at Yang’s gaze. She smiled warmly back at Yang

“Where have you been Weiss?” Yang asked

"I've been busy correcting the record" she answered as if the yang had asked a rather foolish question. "I know you're not the type of person to just assault someone out of the blue. You're hotheaded but not ruthless" she gave Yang a soft smile "Blake seems convinced you've snapped and are ‘pushing the line' she said. Utterly ridiculous."

"Thanks, Weiss"

“For what?” Weiss asked.

“For believing I’m innocent” Yang answered “You and Ruby seem to be the only ones who think so”

_And the bird inside my head_

Weiss waved the sentiment away as if the Yang was praising her for something mundane. She just had a certainty that came with being an heiress. While it wasn’t exactly confidence, Yang greatly respected it and admired it in Weiss.

_10 to 30 years_

The thought entered Yang’s mind like an unwanted guest. Yang frowned and looked away from Weiss’ face, she knew how this was going to end.

_Either with me in an Atlesian cell or _Yang was shocked that this thought even entered her own mind _Or I escape. _Yang looked down at the chains holding her down, she was a creature of Wanderlust, a creature of strength and a creature of freedom. She was not born for chains. Yang squeezed her fists till her knuckles audibly cracked.

“Yang?” came a concerned, she looked up from her hands and back into Weiss’ concerned face.

_But not all chains are cold and cruel_

“Are you ok?” Weiss asked her, the confidence on her face was slipping. Yang gave her a sad half smile and reached towards the bars of her cell, the manacles prevented her from reaching more than an inch outside the cell. Weiss saw this and locked her fingers with Yang’s. Weiss’s hand was cool not like biting snow or chilling ice but cool like a dipping into a stream on a hot summer day. It hurt Yang to know that she might never again hold these hands.

"Promise me you'll take care of Ruby" Weiss flinched as Yang said that, she opened her mouth to speak but Yang cut her off. "Weiss we know that this will end with me in a cell in Atlas. So please do me a favor and keep a watch over Ruby"

“Yang what are you talking about” Weiss was practically shrieking at her, she couldn’t have Yang acting defeatist as well. It’s damn difficult defending someone who’s given up on defending their own innocence. “You’re innocent!”

"Weiss" Yang said her words were as hard as dust forged steel and she was acutely aware that her eye's had turned red. She wasn't angry with Weiss but she needed her to focus and her time was short. "Keep Ruby safe ok?"

"Ok" the words were timid when Weiss spoke them but that underlying certainty remained. For a minute they just sat their hands entwined until Weiss finally let go and stood up to leave. Yang sighed at the feeling of Weiss's absence. As Weiss' hand gripped the door handle she turned back to face Yang. "Yang?...”

“Yeah Weiss?”

“I think the red eyes suit you”

* * *

**The present**

The jostling of the Bullhead woke Weiss from her slumber. Immediately she was annoyed, that was a good memory of a happier time and to be cut out of that memory was not something she appreciated. She looked around the interior of the airship; it was cramped only able to fit team RWB. Ruby sat across from Weiss and was fiddling with Crescent rose, while Blake was seated as far from Weiss as possible. Things had become tense between Blake and Weiss since the Vytal festival incident and even after two years, the girls had barely interacted outside of missions. Weiss shot Blake a swift glare that was treated with an indifferent look that only made Weiss' blood boil further.

“Blake Weiss stop fighting” Ruby spoke up not bothering to look away from her rifle. Both girls looked away from each other before giving their leader an apologetic nod. “That’s better”

They’d been on the Bullhead for a couple of hours now and had hardly spoken since boarding the ship, the mission was weighing heavily on their minds. But going into a mission without a plan was a foolish move and Weiss would not be called a fool.

“Ruby what’s our plan?” finally Ruby looked up from Crescent rose. She let out a sigh and placed the rifle beneath her seat.

“We need to find Yang before the Atlas specialists, the bounty hunters or the White Fang agent’s track her down” she pointed a finger towards Blake. “Blake you’ll be picking up whatever Fang chatter you can muster. Weiss!” her finger shifted over to her partner “You’ll be paired with the atlas specialists, while I will check out what Shade academy knows. I figure we’ll have a more complete picture of where Yang is if we pool these separate resources.”

“I’ll interview the fang lieutenant Sun brought in, you know before the Target broke Sage’s leg”

The Target? That irked Weiss and she was tempted to glare at the Faunus again were it not for the need to stay mission-focused. Vacuo is a huge kingdom filled with such a variety of people finding one blonde woman would prove next to impossible. And if Yang was bolting from Vacuo that meant that they were on a tight schedule in terms of getting Yang before others do.

"How will they prevent Yang from leaving the city," Weiss asked Ruby.

"They're checking all incoming and outgoing caravans extensively," Ruby said returning her weapon maintenance. "Apparently it's impossible to make that trek outside of a caravan."

A silence hung over the cabin and the unspoken _Yang’s done impossible things before _lingered in the air.

"If the target is cornered that may backfire on us" Blake's voice maintained its analytical tinge as she spoke, "Do we have the power to bring her in?"

“Team JNR_, Team SS_N united with us should be more than enough to subdue the…” Ruby hesitated “Yang”

"Alive?" Weiss asked, she knew Ruby had planned for this to be a capture mission, not a kill mission, but even she had to admit that Yang might force the issue. Ruby's silver eyes snapped over to Weiss, there was anger behind those eyes. They seemed to pulse with light and Weiss felt a twinge of fear.

“Of course Weiss!” Ruby growled. The lights in the bullhead’s cabin flickered as Ruby stood up in front of the Heiress. “We’re bringing Yang home alive and well” she shot a glance to Blake who bowed her head towards her leader. “Whether she likes it or not” her gaze came back the Atlesian. Weiss nodded in response, Ruby blew out a sigh before sitting back down. “Atlas and the rest of them will just have to deal with that”

Weiss couldn’t allow herself a smile, not when the mission was so far from finished, so instead, she closed her eyes and dreamt of better days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the chapter's lateness. Keep spreading this around if you can I always appreciate it. ANNA


	8. Escapes

**Chapter 7: Escapes**

Yang burst through the rubble of the collapsed building and sucked in a breath of fresh air. The broken Rib had again repaired itself to merely fractured and only slightly stung as she heaved in breaths. That had taken a while, too long in-fact but Yang was once again free. She pulled back the Grimm-mask and let the fresh unfiltered air blow across her face.

Yang’s joy died quickly as she began to take stock of her surroundings, though a bit far from her there were a number of Vacuo police officers and Huntsmen near the site of the collapsed building. A couple had even glanced her way. Apparently bursting out of the ground and loudly drinking in fresh air while dressed up as a Grimm garners attention from law enforcement, who knew?

_It would probably be best if I bolted as discretely as possible_ Yang thought to herself, waving slightly at the Huntsmen and officers before turning around. _Just keep moving, don’t run that’ll just set them off_

“Excuse me ma’am” came a woman’s voice from behind Yang. Yang paused and turned to face a young huntress, probably still in an academy briskly jogging towards her, she had a set of derringers on her and had long braided black hair. “Would you mind sticking around for questioning?”

She had a pretty face, but Yang had seen prettier and her mother had taught her well enough how to deal with this sort of eventuality. Yang smiled at the little huntress, she leaned down to be eye level with the girl.

“Would that I could, but I just got finished digging myself out of a stone grave and I’m pretty sure I’ve broken a rib” Yang lifted up her shirt and exposed an ugly purple bruise running all along her rib cage. The young huntress’ eyes widened at the sight of Yang’s beaten side. “So I’ll just give you my contact info and be off to the hospital then”

Yang retrieved a small black card with red lettering and handed it to the Huntress. Yang had a number of burner scrolls and just as many cards with numbers relating to said scrolls, this particular card listed Yang as Ursia Majoras freelance Huntress. The Huntress' eyes scanned over the card once, twice and a third time before looking up at Yang with suspicion. That suspicious look made Yang feel a twitching near Ember Celica, she was never a fan of being stared at.

“Yes?”

“Are you really a freelance Huntress?” the Girl asked in genuine fascination, Yang was taken aback by the interest the girl had shown in her BS profession.

"Uh yeah, Why?" she responded, coughing a bit at the end.

"Well that just sounds so roguish and fantastical, I was just curious if one could do that" The Girl smiled up at Yang before shaking her head as if something just came to her. She extended her hand towards Yang so quickly it caused the big blonde to flinch at the speed. "I'm Norn, by the way, Norn Mjol”

Yang slowly extended her own hand and grasped Norn’s before giving it a firm shake.

“Ursia Majoras” Yang smiled at the Girl before vomiting a bucket’s worth of blood and bile onto the vacuo streets “I do need that hospital though”

Norn jumped forward, putting herself beneath Yang’s armpit and began walking Yang away from the ruined building. “Then let me help you get there, while I get your statement, it’s a win-win”

Yang sighed she was strapped with the upbeat huntress yet again. Damn these one’s with Can-do attitudes, they were always the hardest ones to tell “Get lost” to. But Yang’s ribs were hurting and she was in a mood to keep playing pretend. 

“So how’d you get trapped in that building?”

**Build a lie from elements of Truth.**

“I got into a fight with a dude from the white fang, one thing led to another and I was stuck under a building, beaten tired and with little to no Aura” Yang hacked up a vicious blood loogie and spat it on the sidewalk, the thing was black. "So do you go to shade academy?"

"Yeah, I just got accepted this year in fact," Norn said blushing slightly. "I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing but I have a good team watching out for me"

_Dust isn’t she just adorable_. _The real world is gonna rip her apart and she doesn’t even know it yet_

“Be careful not to be too reliant on your team though” Yang blurted out. She hadn’t meant to say that, but she was tired and there was no harm in it. Norn gave her a confused look. “If you rely on them too much you’ll end up the weakest link and if you’re the weakest link, a time will come when you need to rely on your team-mates and they won’t be there to catch you.”

“You’re speaking from experience” Norn replied the look of shocked horror stuck on her face. “Aren’t you?”

_Way to go, Yang, you opened yourself up to this random stranger, Dust I need therapy_. Instead of saying that Yang settled for silence, hard to incriminate herself that way. Suddenly there was beeping noise, looking in its direction Yang saw the scroll on Norn’s belt light up. The Young huntress retrieved the scroll and unfurled it, there was a picture of Yang from the Vytal festival on it.

“Shit” Yang muttered aloud, Norn looked up at Yang and her eyes widened with recognition, the girl’s hand slowly drifted down to one her many derringers. Yang’s hand shot out and grabbed Norn’s throat, slightly squeezing it. “Kid I’m not in any condition to have fun fighting you, so move the hand away from the gun and keep your mouth shut or I’ll crush your throat ALRIGHT!?”

Norn slowly nodded to Yang and moved her hand away from her gun, Yang’s grip eased in response, she let out a sigh. “I don’t want trouble and I certainly don’t want a hostage. So I’m gonna have to-“

Before yang could finish the sentence, Norn flicked her wrist and another gun appeared in the palm of her hand, she brought the tiny pistol up and fired Point blank at Yang's face. Yang quickly nodded her head causing the Grimm mask to slide back into place and thrust the huntress away from her. Her aura was quick enough to block the shots to her forehead and her mask was able to deflect what got past the Aura. Norn slammed into the Wall of a building and Yang shot out a side-kick right into her chest knocking the wind out of her, Norn collapsed on the ground clutching her chest, struggling to breathe.

Yang looked up from the downed Norn and saw a group of Vacuo police rushing towards her. Yang did not have time for this right now. Yang reached down grabbed Norn and threw her full force into the oncoming crowd of cops. Focusing her aura into her own legs, Yang turned around and sprinted as hard as she could. And like that Yang was on the run again.

_Dust this is a damn nightmare._

* * *

**Two Years ago**

She was in the beacon courtyard again, Out of her cell again, there was something wrong with the world it was all fuzzy and everything glowed with an unnatural light. She was dreaming again. Yang walked along the beacon courtyard, the sound of wind chimes ringing in her ears and yet she couldn't see any chimes. She looked up at one of the lamp posts and saw a blackbird perched atop the post looking down on her with red eyes.

_The dream bird_

The bird nodded towards her and flew to the statues at the center of the courtyard. Yang followed behind it never rushing, there was no need she was in a dream. Before the bird reached the base of the statue it’s shaped changed in an instant and Yang saw the Grimm mask again. The creature that stood before Yang certainly looked like a Grimm; it was dressed in red and black and its mask was bone-white etched with red symbols. It also was eerily familiar to Yang.

_On the train._

Yang stopped her approach, being sure to keep a wary distance between her and this entity. It may have saved her and brought her comfort but Yang could just feel how dangerous this creature was. Maliciousness emanated from the creature in a way Yang couldn't quite explain. It was like the difference between a loaded and an unloaded weapon, this creature exuded that difference.

_Is this thing a figment of my imagination or is there something in my head?_

“Who are you?” She asked. The dream bird didn’t reply instead it reached up and removed the mask from its face. The face beneath was beautiful; the skin was porcelain pale and the eyes were an enchanting shade of crimson and Yang recognized the face. It was her own face. It was the face of her mother.

"Yang, we have a lot to talk about," her mother said crimson eyes matching her own. Yang couldn't tell when her eyes shifted to red just as she couldn't pick out exactly why she was furious. Maybe her fury came from the fact her mother left her, or the fact that she chose just now to come back or maybe it was what her mom leaving had done to her dad. Whatever the reason it didn't matter.

"Why?" Yang asked half hoping that Raven would know which question required answering the most. Instead, her mother scoffed at her question and ran her fingers through her hair.

"That question will have to wait for another time, Yang. Right now we need to focus on getting you out" her mother flicked her wrist and 3d image of Yang's cell materialized in front of them. "I can answer any questions you have after you escape."

Yang stomped her foot into the ground, the floor of the dreamscape cracked at her action, Raven didn’t flinch.

“NO!” Yang shouted pointing towards her mother “You don’t get to roll your eyes at this question. I’m owed an answer” the dream-beacon began to twist and burn, Grimm emerged from cracks and crevasses and ran throughout the courtyard. “and I won’t let you just…” Raven flashed forward towards Yang.

“Yang, calm calm calm” Raven said while stroking her daughter’s hair. “I can’t explain everything over a dream all I can do is get you back to me. When we’re together I’ll tell you all you want to know”

The dreamscape's landscape turned a dark reddish hew but no more Grimm appeared and the fires died down to nothing. Yang took a deep breath and left her Mother's embrace, wiping snot off her nose with the back of her hand. She really was gross when she cried.

"You could have brought me with you," she said, the statement wasn't accusatory it was just a clear statement of fact.

“This will be the one answer I give you this night then; I could have taken you with me, but if I did then we both would’ve died” she placed a hand on Yang’s shoulder giving her a look as cold as iron. “You understand the need to be strong and I wouldn’t allow my weakness to kill us both”

A feeling overtook Yang in a wave, she thought that she would be angry. She thought that feeling overtaking her would be hatred. But it wasn't. She was overcome with a feeling of understanding instead. What her mother just said clicked with her, the fact she was called the weak link didn't matter to her since it was correct.

_Mom has the same fear of weakness that I have_

She gave her mother a nod of understanding before manifesting the image of her cell again. Raven gave her a slight smile before going into great detail regarding Atlas moving prisoner moving procedure, it was dull as crap and Yang was worried she’d fall asleep within her own dream were it not for her mother occasional thumping her on the head.

“Do you have a place you can run to?” Raven asked once they’d covered the main elements of the escape plan. The Beacon around Raven and Yang fell away and suddenly they were situated in the forest of single fall. The red on the leaves seemed to glow more vibrantly than they had ever in reality. Raven nodded in approval “good place, does anyone know about this place?”

A ghostly form of Weiss bloomed out of the dream and the phantom gave Yang a soothing smile. Raven gave the apparition a strange look before looking back at Yang

“Can she be trusted?” She asked. Yang reached out and cupped the ghost’s face with her hand before turning back to her mother.

“I’d trust her with my life” she answered pride ringing in her voice.

“You’ll have to when you wake up” Raven replied tone slightly mocking “Because if Atlas specialists get their hands on you after all this, make no mistake Daughter. They will kill you”

Yang knew her mother wasn’t exaggerating. She recognized the risk and she was still willing to take it. Why? Why was she risking her life just to avoid prison?

_Because if they bind me then they’ll make me weak._

"I'm not weak," she said allowed turning towards her mother a look of defiance and determination upon her face. "They won't kill me_”_

Raven smiled back at her daughter and put the Grimm mask back on her face. "No, you're not. As soon as you get to this location head north from it I’ll find you”

* * *

**Reality**

They came for Yang early in the morning, three atlas soldier all armed to the teeth and highly trained. They stood in the antechamber, one approached the cell door while the others kept their weapons trained at Yang.

“Please stand up and face the wall” Yang slowly stood up and obliged. She had to struggle to prevent herself from shaking with excitement, she’d never done anything like this before and she couldn’t screw it up. “Place your hands on the wall” again she followed orders.

The Guard opened the cell door and entered in, Yang could tell he was there but couldn’t exactly tell where he was. She flinched a little when he unlocked the manacle on her right wrist. Before the manacle hit the floor Yang’s elbow shot out and collided with the guard’s nose, he flinched back in pain dropping the ring of keys. Yang caught the keys as they fell.

The stunned guard reached for his sidearm but before he could grab hold of it Yang wrapped the chain around his neck and held him in a chokehold between her and the 2 other guards. Said guards were beginning to freak out.

“Gkkk” the Guard choked “What are you doing?”

The key clicked and the Manacle released from her wrist.

“Escaping” Yang’s right fist collided with the guard’s chin.

ONE

TWO

THREE

By the third hammering blow, his measly Aura broke and he was left defenseless.

_I don’t wanna hurt him too bad though, but I need his friends to hold their fire._

“Listen up Atlasians, Atlasiens? Dudes from atlas!” Yang shouted into the antechamber still keeping a tight grip on the guard. “Your friend here is currently aura-less and any shots you take at me might hit him and neither of us want that, do we?”

The other guards kept their weapons raised and their helmeted faces were unreadable.

_It appears that I’ve taken the hostage nobody liked_

“Take cover behind the cot” she whispered in the guard's ear. As he turned to give her a confused look, Yang frog hopped over his shoulders and sprinted towards the door. The Atlas guards opened fire on her.

She'd been saving up her aura this entire and she'd hoped that she could escape with minimal damage to it but apparently, Atlas was just filled with cold bastards. She tried to dodge what shots she could but there was only so much one could do with a torrent of shots coming towards them and she was without her gauntlets.

She'd been shot 5 times by the time she entered the antechamber, the bulkier guard swung a clothesline at Yang's neck at a blinding speed. Yang slide underneath the swinging arm and struck the guard in his ribs with her elbow. Popping out of her slide Yang dodged another swipe the guard swung at her and retaliated with a punch straight to the chin, the guard stumbled back from the low and Yang sprung forward. She grabbed the guard by his breastplate and with a roar spun around and smashed him into the other guard in the antechamber, who was busy retrieving a side weapon.

A part of Yang whispered _Finish the fight! You can take them. _And she’d love to oblige that part; her blood was pumping and these dudes were just asking for a fight, but she had other things to consider.

_Like my freedom_

So reluctantly Yang turned away from the guards and the prospect of a fight and sprinted down the hall. Away from Atlas forces. Away from Beacon. Away from her team. And away from Weiss.


	9. Hunting for Dragons

Yang’s legs propelled her across the open sandy streets of Vacuo, taking turn after turn into alleyways and through bazaars, deeper and deeper she dipped into the kingdom's crowds. Once she had undoubtedly shaken her pursuers she removed her Ursa mask and locked it to her belt, it was her biggest identifier but she’d be damned if she was going to throw it away. She quickly bought a blue cloak and a bag to help blend back in. Clothes and gear were one thing but Yang knew her hair would give her away, luckily she knew a person who could deal with that issue.

This wasn’t the first time that Yang had been to Vacuo, she'd visited the kingdom on a few occasions on her mother's orders. The first time she'd gone to the city in the sands she'd been given a list of contacts to exploit by Raven and she had never forgotten them. There was gunsmith who traveled with a group of bandits, there was a crag-hermit who could brew perfect poisons and there was a brothel owner with girls who could make any man or woman vanish without a trace. Azraq Lhia was that brothel owner and Yang would need his help if she wanted to get out of the kingdom unnoticed.

_And Azraq has some beautiful women in his employ…_ Yang's mind returned to the white-haired woman in Junior's club and of older flames. _…and it has been a while_

It took Yang about an hour or 2 to find Azraq’s establishment, of course in the seediest part of town; Yang almost got mugged just getting to the brothel but her assailant was quickly 'dissuaded'. She was being followed, maybe by that Norn woman or possibly by someone else.

_So long as it’s not Sun I should be fine_

Azraq’s brothel: The Lost Wives, was actually rather classy for a whore house; nothing was left in disrepair, no stenches hung in the air and the women looked happy to be present rather than that sullen dead look that most prostitutes had. As Yang entered The Lost Wives she saw that the red carpet had been replaced with a deep blue one, she glanced at the reception desk and saw a hulking man sitting behind the desk, Azraq. He was huge and wore a blue 3 piece suit that could barely contain his overly muscled frame, he had tanned skin, a head shaved bald, he wore glasses and had a look on his face that said “Welcome in fine customer, I have a set of rules here, keep to them or I’ll take great pleasure snapping your neck”.

Yang had no love for him, but he did good work and she needed his services. So Yang walked up to the front desk and tapped the desk, rather than ring the bell. Azraq slowly looked up from the book he’d been reading, his blue eyes locked with Yang and he smirked at her.

"Miss Xiao Long, It's been too long" he had a slow and methodical way of speaking. “I heard the business between you and Mr.Green went smoothly”

“I wasn’t aware it was common knowledge”

“It isn’t”

Yang was in no mood to play this game, nor did she have time for Azraq to gloat at her. Yang pulled out a couple 100 lien notes and slapped them onto the desk.

“I need D’Aulnoy’s services now!” she glanced back at the door certain that a huntsman would burst in any second now. Azraq’s smirk diminished at that, and he flicked his head towards the stairs leading to the 2nd floor.

"She's in room 215, I pray you haven't brought too much chaos to my establishment, Madwoman."

Yang sprinted up the stairs and began disrobing as she ran. Within a few seconds, she was out of sight and that was when the doors burst open. Norn, 2 other huntsmen, and a dozen Vacuoian police piled into the room. Norn with a derringer in each hand marched to the front desk and pointed one of her small pistols in Azraq’s face.

“Where is she?” Norn asked in a raspy voice, Yang’s kick had bruised her voice box it seems. Azraq again slowly looked up from his book to stare at the newcomers. He seemed professionally disinterested in the whole affair. 

“Where is who?” Azraq retorted making sure to have every word linger just a second too long. “Also it’s a bit rude to point a weapon in another person’s face.”

Norn didn’t lower her weapon, she just nodded to the Vacuoian police who started inspecting rooms and kicking open doors. Azraq’s eyebrow twitched at that.

“Fugitive Yang Xiao Long was seen entering this establishment seconds ago” Norn spat at Azraq, she clearly did not like the man since she let her spittle hit him in the face. “Now I ask again, where is she?”

“I don’t know about any Xiao Long but a woman did just come in and requested one of the girls, she seemed to be a bit distressed.”

“Excellent where is she?”

“Room 215, she was my last customer” then Azraq added with a sneer “before you and yours burst in the door and stuck a gun in my face”

Finally, Norn removed the gun from the pimp’s face, bringing her fingers up to her lips and let out a piercing whistle, the huntsmen and police gathered back around her. Motioning upstairs Norn and her entourage filed up the stairs. The 2nd floor of The Lost Wives was a blue Haven, blue carpet melded well with blue floral wall paints and navy blue doors. Norn put her finger up to her lips in a “Shushing motion” and pointed at the door labeled ‘215’.

The Huntsmen took point and the whole crowd silently gathered around the door, everyone kept their weapons ready but aimed at the ground. Everyone was twitchy, they’d all heard the stories about Yang Xiao Long, they’d heard of the huntsmen she’d put in the dirt. Norn took a deep breath, tried to slow down her heart rate, activated her aura and tackled the door full force.

The wood splintered and the door slammed against the back wall, Norn leveled her derringers at the room’s two occupants… both of whom were busy. On the bed were 2 women wrapped around one another looking nothing alike, one was gaunt, pale and short while the other was voluptuous, tanned and tall. The Pale girl had short curling white hair while the other had long straight black locks that spilled everywhere. The tanned girl was covered in swirling tattoos while the pale was as white as a blank canvas. One was annoyed the other amused. Honestly, they had nothing in common besides gender and the fact that they were naked. Very very naked.

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" was all Norn could get out of her mouth, the Tanned girl glared at her, the tattoos covering a large portion of her face shifted like a flame as her brow furrowed. "Ummmmmmmmmm is there anyone else here?” Dust this is awkward.

The Pale girl giggled at the question and gave Norn a small smile, Norn's face turned a bright shade of red at that smile. The girl spoke, there was a bit of laughter within her voice "There's no one here but the two of us" She gestured at her partner who only grunted in acknowledgment "But you're welcome to look around"

The Tanned woman pulled the pale girl towards her and whispered something in her ear, the girl giggled at whatever was spoken. "No, of course, it won't interrupt us." And then they… well, they picked up where they left off. Norn quickly motioned for the officers and the accompanying huntsmen to quickly inspect the room and to leave as soon as humanly possible, the situation was already awkward enough. They came up with nothing and even exploring the other nearby rooms yielded no results, Yang Xiao Long just disappeared. The Vacuo police paid Azraq for damages and left defeated. The common grunts weren’t enough to catch Yang, They would need something special.

* * *

**Two years ago**

Yang had been free for less than an hour before the remnants of team RWBY had been called to Ozpin’s office. The girls were being interrogated separately. Weiss by Ironwood, Ruby by Ozpin and Blake by Goodwitch.

Ruby was nervous as she sat in one of the Beacon interrogation room. The last time she'd been here was after the fight with Roman at the docks, but she hadn't been worried about getting in trouble then. No the last time she felt like that had been when she'd been arrested for fighting torchwick in a dust shop. That was right before she received early acceptance to go to Beacon.

_Somehow I don’t think this will end as well for me_. Ruby always tried to remain optimistic but sometimes her optimism could bleed into Naiveté and she'd have to be careful of that. Ozpin was pacing around the room, saying nothing and maintaining his air of mystery really well. Finally, he stopped right in front of Ruby.

"Yang's put herself in grave danger," Ozpin said, well actually it was more like he stated it. "Atlas forces won't be lenient with her if they catch her. They'll make an example of her"

Now that shocked Ruby, she’d never had any ill will towards the atlas forces and appreciated their help during the Grimm incursion last semester in fact. She couldn’t imagine them making “Examples” of anyone especially not her sister.

“That doesn’t sound like them. Why would they do that?”

A sad look spread across Ozpin’s face, she’d seen it only a few times before and it always looked out of place to her. The look didn’t look like it was faked or anything it just looked like it shouldn’t be on the face of someone so powerful and all-knowing. He sat back down before he spoke.

“The Grimm situation is worse than we’re letting on Ms.Rose, We’re doing everything we can to keep them out of Beacon.” He paused to rub the bridge of his nose. “…But It hasn’t been easy and Yang’s escape might panic the public. That panic might break our defenses. Atlas punishing Yang will be the only way they can show that they’re in control”

Well, that certainly painted a dire picture, made worse by the fact it was true. Ruby had to concede that Yang's escape might not be the best thing for all of Vale.

_But why is Ozpin tormenting me with this?_

"But" Ozpin continued "A televised flogging of a 17-year-old wouldn't be good for morale either, so…" he leaned closer to Ruby "What are we going to do about it?"

_Letting Yang escape is out of the question. Letting atlas abuse her is certainly off the table. _She clenched her fist as she imagined an atlas soldier whipping Yang in front of others. _That only leaves…_

"We bring her back ourselves," she said finally picking up what Ozpin was implying. Her headmaster raised an eyebrow towards her expectantly. "…no I bring her back myself"

“You’re the only one who reasonably can at this juncture. If you can get her to return, I can keep her out of Atlas’s hands and grant her a fair trial, here in Beacon”

What Ozpin was promising was enormous and not something a person would pass up lightly, Ruby especially. Yang had taken care of Ruby her entire life and she’d sooner kiss a Boarbatusk than let that debt go unrepaid.

“I’ll find her professor and I’ll bring her home”

* * *

Weiss was inundated by a barrage of questions. Where had Yang gone? Was anyone assisting in her escape? Had one of team RWBY helped her escape? Again and again and again. The questions were unceasing.

_But that’s the point keep asking the same question and look for inconsistencies _Weiss thought to herself as her eyes followed Ironwood pacing around the room. Weiss could see that the general’s agitation was simmering just below the surface. _Why is this so important to him?_

The general stopped, turned to face the young Heiress and pressed his palms against the cold metal of the table. He took a deep breath before he spoke.

“Ms.Schnee you are being unnecessarily obstinate, you act as if we’re looking to kill Ms.Xiao Long when that couldn’t be further from the truth”

“Really?” disbelief clear in her voice.

"Yes really," Ironwood said as he sat down across from Weiss. "We only want to bring her to court for assaulting Atlas personnel, the longer she's away the worse this'll be for her"

Weiss couldn’t hide her contempt, this technique was so cliché. “Really how so? Yang sees this ending in 2 different ways, either A you catch her and she spends a good portion of her life in jail, B she surrenders herself to you and still spends a good portion of her life in jail or C she escapes. So do tell me General how can this situation get any worse for Yang?”

“I’ll have to call in Atlas specialists to retrieve her” he answered a chill accompanying his response. “They’ll be called in if she’s missing for more than a day, bounty hunters if she’s been missing for more than a week. Both groups will be allowed to utilize whatever methods they deem necessary to bring her in” He fixed Weiss with his cool gaze. “Do you know why that is Ms.Schnee?”

"Because of the Grimm" Of course, it had to be now that Yang escaped right when tensions were so high. Ironwood nodded at her response, Weiss was right and for once she was not satisfied with that fact.

_Innocent or not the rest of the public thinks that Yang is a criminal. A well-trained, apparently violent criminal, who just escaped from the watchful eye of both Atlas and Vale forces_.

“Ever since the breach last semester people have been feeling… uneasy and the Grimm have noticed, they're hovering at Vales borders and their numbers aren't dwindling" he gave Weiss an apologetic look "when, not if, Yang's escape gets out, this situation will only be worsened. I can't place Yang's safety ahead of all the lives that'll be lost and I'm not sure you can either. If you can help me get her now extreme measures won't be necessary."

Weiss thought of the breach in Vale last semester, the panic, the destruction and of how they’d been extremely lucky that no one died. She thought of someone as powerful as Winter hunting after Yang without restraint. She thought of the promise she’d made to Yang.

“I’ll only ask this one more time Ms.Schnee, where is Yang Xiao Long”

* * *

**Present**

The Tattooed woman watched the Vacuo forces leave from the balcony of room 215, turning back to the pale woman she extended her hand palm up towards her.

“D’Aulony got a mirror, I’d like to know what I look like” the Pale woman grabbed a small pocket mirror from the bedside table and tossed it to her tanned partner. The tanned woman caught it with one hand and started examining the tattoos on her face. “These tats are pretty extensive are you sure they were really necessary?”

“It’s one of the best ways to disguise scars and one random tattoo might seem out of place” D’Aulony poked her own pale flesh and similar tattoos sprung up from her touch and spread across her body. “Besides Menagerie tribal tattoos are enchanting to look at”

The Tanned woman pulled at her dark hair frowning at its color, before closing the little mirror and turning to face the pale woman. “How long?”

“24 hours as usual. Think that’ll be enough time for you Ms.Xiao Long?”

Yang looked down at her now tanned hands, Madame D’aulony always did fine work and Yang was the perfect example of that, she could hardly recognize herself. D’aulony’s semblance was the ability to change the color of almost any object she touched including people. Her semblance was invaluable and she came at a high price, but in this business, you get what you pay for. Yang would have preferred not to mess with her hair but beggars can't be choosers, besides it had come with the benefit of taking care of her own ‘thirst' problem.

“It’ll have to be, Azraq has the payment downstairs” Yang brought the professionalism back to her voice, she would have to be cold if she was going to have a chance to get out of Vacuo alive. “Where’d you hide the Burner scrolls? I need to report back to Raven”

D’Aulony’s smile faltered at Raven's name but she quickly recovered it pointing to a set of loose floorboards in the corner of the room. “They’re in there with the rest of your gear”

Yang lifted the floorboards and crouched down to gaze into the secret storage zone. She winced in pain as she descended to her haunches, her bruised ribs might not look damaged anymore, but they certainly still felt damaged, she gripped her rib and again focused her aura to finally repairing her fractured bones once and for all.

_I might be able to finish repairing them this time instead of just bringing them back to fractured_

Yang gazed back into the storage space, there were a few bins inside the 4 by 4 by 4-foot space and resting in the center was the Ursa mask. Yang’s fingers brushed over the mask reverently and gently she lifted it out of the storage space, it had hurt her to remove the mask and angered her that she’d been forced to hide it.

“Norn Mjol, Norn Mjol, Norn Mjol” Yang committed her name to memory and added her to the increasingly large list of people who’d wronged her. Locking eyes with the Ursa mask Yang repeated the name as if to implant it into the mask itself, so if she forgot the mask would remember for her. She lifted the mask and pressed her forehead to its cold metal and images of those who'd betrayed and hurt her flashed in her mind but also images of her mother. Smiling at those last imaginings Yang gently set down the mask and began retrieving her other equipment: her clothes and weapons along with her backpack and cloak.

“I might need a wardrobe change” she shouted back at D’Aulony not bothering to turn around, instead focused on cleaning Ember Celica. D’Aulony was beautiful no doubt and undeniably did good work but Yang had to remain unattached especially for when she was on the job. Mother might send her to put D’Aulony in the ground one day. Yang had to smirk at that idea, Raven wasn’t one for wasting valuable resources and D’Aulony would be difficult to replace. But not impossible.

“How about I throw in a wardrobe change no extra payment necessary” now that piqued Yang’s interest, she turned to look at the pale girl who had turned herself into a tapestry of swirling tattoos liken to atlesian artwork.

Yang raised an eyebrow and asked "Why?" the living fresco stretched her arms over her head arching her back, it was a mesmerizing sight; Art rarely tried to directly seduce you.

“Would you believe it’s because I’m attracted to you?” Laughter rang through Yang’s head, harsh mean laughter.

“No” Yang responded flatly. D’aulony gave her a pouting look and crossed her arms over her exposed chest.

“Fine, I’d like you to recommend me to your mother” That made more sense to Yang, plenty of people were looking to get a favor from Raven or get her to look on them with a positive light and though few people knew Yang was Raven’s daughter they knew she was close to her and hoped to gain favor from that avenue.

“Azraq is kind, pays well and keeps me safe but I feel as if my talents are underutilized here and…” She paused as if trying to find the most polite way of telling someone they were a freak of nature “I want to see if Raven’s eyes have the same trait as yours”

Yang’s eyes were one of the few thing’s D’Aulony’s semblance couldn’t affect, no matter how much aura she expended, the red eyes would remain red. Yang grunted and tossed D’Aulony her clothes while she searched through the storage space for the burners.

“I’d appreciate it and I’ll mention your charity to Raven but I can’t promise yah anything ok?”

D’Aulony nodded enthusiastically, she seemed to like her odds regarding Raven. As the walking gallery set to work on the clothes, Yang plucked a small chip from her mask and plugged it into the burner scroll, the scroll’s screen glitched briefly, and flashed an image of a winged cog that resembled an eye. Once the scroll finished downloading all the encryption software into itself, Yang sent her message.

**Y: mission complete, alliance accepted, sorry for the delay a building fell on me.**

After a minute Raven replied, she always seemed to be by her scroll whenever Yang contacted her.

**R: Excellent, Building?**

**Y: Ran into some old friends, got trapped beneath it.**

**R: Friends? You could have contacted me to get you out if you were trapped.**

Yang had to smirk at that, her mother was testing her, but she’d been prepared for this.

**Y: Just Sun. IT wasn’t an issue I figured I could get myself out, I wouldn’t want to bother you with something so trivial. ** **J**

**R: That’s my girl.**

That made Yang’s cheeks heat up, she’d been living with Raven off and on for 2 years now, she’d actually got to know her mother and yet every time she showed Yang any affection it made her swell with a joyful pride.

**R: Need extraction?**

**Y: Wouldn’t say no to it.**

**R: Wise meet N in the southern crags in 2 days’ time. N will be able to get you out.**

**Y: Understood.**

With that Yang closed the Scroll and retrieved the chip. She could survive 2 days in the city, she’d have 1 day almost free to her thanks to D’Aulony and only 1 day of actual hiding. Perfectly manageable. Putting on her new clothes, neatly concealing the Ursa helmet beneath a now red cloak Yang walked back towards Junior’s bar. She could use a drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok next chapter is going to be solely flashback. You’ll get some answers, some hints at what’ll happen in the future and sweet sweet violence. It might be a day or 2 late as well sorry in advance. might get more fan art for this chapter later


	10. Everything breaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang is on the Run and the world scrambles to react

The Vaults beneath Beacon were cavernous to say the least, it made it so that every echo continued on and on forever. So when Ironwood walked back and forth it was as if 20 generals were nervously pacing the room instead of just the one. The general, Qrow and Ozpin were in one of the many hidden wings of the vaults. Qrow and Ozpin were stood in front of a room separated from them by glass, dust enhanced glass, an extremely expensive thing to make and yet near indestructible. Ironwood was keeping his distance from the glass wall as he paced the room. Both headmasters avoided looking into the room beyond while Qrow couldn’t look anywhere else.

"James you must stop pacing, you're only worrying yourself," Ozpin said for the 4th time in the last hour. “No good will come from you working yourself up?”

"Really Ozpin?" Ironwood turned to face Beacon's headmaster, frustration clear on his face and in his tone. "Because it seems like I should be getting worked up right about now, we have a fugitive on the loose requiring immense resource allocation, Which" he pointed at Ozpin as he spoke "You seem to think is unnecessary"

"It is!" Ozpin shot a glance at James and the general could feel the pressure of Ozpin's power on the air itself. The general had faced this before though and he would not flinch away from it this time. "This retrieval doesn't require a spectacle it only requires a single agent"

Ironwood laughed out loud he couldn’t help it, at every opportunity Ozpin would counter his ideas even if they made perfect sense. The general swept his arm towards the glass next to them.

“Then why not send her in?" he asked, daring a glance into the enclosure and 2 eyes stared back at him from the darkness. When what was inside looked at him he flinched back from it, the eyes seemed to bore into him and were always making eye-contact. Ozpin had seen that flinch.

“She ain’t ready” Qrow finally spoke up, not looking away from the glass. His voice came out clear and lacked its usually drunken slur. He was stone-cold sober. How could he be anything else? “We don’t know how what you Atlas nerds did has affected her, yet”

“This would be an excellent field test then. It’s on a battlefield we know, against a simple target and she’d be surrounded by highly trained officers”

Qrow finally tore his gaze away from the glass to give the general a look of utter contempt.

“’Simple’ You don't know my niece very well do you?" Qrow spat on the vault floor and took a step towards Ironwood, his hand shifting back to _Harbinger _at his waist. "Yang's actions have forced us to speed up our schedule and get this horror show done early, but if this shit-show gets out you can be damn sure that THEY will take advantage and if SHE'S on the field they'll know in an instant and take her apart in a second."

Ironwood didn't respond, partially because he was frustrated with Ozpin, Partially because the statement didn't warrant a response, but the main reason he didn't react is that he'd made eye contact with the subject again. Two different colored eyes, one golden brown the other Emerald, seemed to look into the general, both shining with an inner light. The General had done many things other people wouldn't be able to live with and moved on with his life. What he did he did for the good of the people of Remnant. But he wasn't certain that what lay behind the glass would leave him without nightmares.

Then a warm smile spread across the young girl's face and Ironwood was sure he'd lose a week of sleep because of that grin alone. They'd done what was first thought impossible, they'd succeeded in their mad gamble.

_God help us all. _They all thought as they watched their creation look back into them.

* * *

**“Where is Yang Xiao Long”**

**The forest of single Fall**

Yang was lucky to have gotten as far as she did. Sure there were a few close calls as she snuck out of beacon, one knocked out guard here and busted light there, but once she was in the forest of forever fall she was certain she was in the home stretch. All she'd have to do is collect what she needed from her tree and be on her way. The tree had everything she could possibly need; food, supplies, camping gear, bullets, everything. Well, almost everything.

Yang looked down at her wrists, it was rare for her to go anywhere without Ember Celica on and their absence was hard to ignore. She felt as if her wrists were now fragile and that she was an incomplete person without her weapons.

_Maybe I could sneak back in _she thought for the hundredth time that day _I could grab them and be back here in an instant and no one would be the wiser._

Yang looked back towards Beacon and the more she thought about retrieving her gauntlets the more appealing the idea became.

_I could sneak back into my dorm and just grab them no issue. The only people that might be there would be my own team. Ruby. Blake. Weiss._

A sad smile spread across Yang's face. She did miss her gauntlets but she missed her team more. She wanted to see them one last time before she left. She wanted to explain why she had to go. Make them understand. It was a nice dream, a fool's dream. Still, it would have been nice to see Weiss one last time.

Yang let out a sigh, turning away from Beacon.

SNAP

The sound of a broken tree branch resounded through the clearing and Yang's head snapped around towards it. The sound had come from the direction of Beacon. Yang raised her aura tensing her muscles like coiled springs when a frivolous thought filtered into her head.

_Maybe it’s Weiss._

The thought of Weiss catching up with her and them running away together was a good thought. A hopeful thought. It was poison to Yang's defenses. **Hope is a hindrance **is a lesson her mother would eventually teach her. Unfortunately, Yang was going to learn that lesson a bit earlier than Raven intended.

“Wei..”

Yang was cut off as a bullet sped out of the forest and struck her in her forehead. Her aura diverted the lethality of the shot but she was still knocked back from the force of the attack. As she stumbled back a barrage of other shots were unleashed upon her position. Atlas had found her. Shot after shot bounced off Yang's aura knocking her this way and that it took her a few seconds to regain her balance. Once she had her legs solidly beneath her again she ran from the Atlas forces, now emerging from the trees.

She sprinted towards the giant fallen tree, zigging and zagging as she went, trying to turn herself into as difficult a target as possible. Another bullet struck her in the shoulder and she almost went down but managed to catch herself. Focusing her aura into her legs she flung herself over the fallen tree trunk.

Once behind the safety of the fallen tree Yang took a second to catch her breath and analyze the situation. She could hear the sound of Atlas sergeants shouting orders and the march of their little droids milling about.

_How’d they find me so fast? How many could I take without Ember Celica? What can I use as a weapon?_

Yang squeezed her hands into fists and smiled as she heard her knuckles pop. She had all the weapons she needed right here, and so what if there were a bunch of them she’d fought tougher opponents before and come out on top. And you know what? She’d been stuck in that miserable cell for too damn long she deserved to let loose again.

Yang slammed her fists together and instantly her hair blossomed into a raging flame, all the strikes she’d taken just now were about to be unleashed on these poor grunts.

_They’re expecting a fleeing opponent, they aren’t ready for this._

Yang turned her back towards the tree and flipped herself over it in a soaring leap. The Atlas soldiers gaped at her as she landed amongst them and in that second Yang struck. There were about 20 Atlas soldier and 15 droids and in this close quarters, they wouldn't risk shooting into a melee. Yang smiled as her elbow smashed into one soldier's helmet and he dropped to the floor.

“You shoulda brought more men," she said with a maniacal grin on her face.

* * *

**Ruby**

Semblance enhanced speed can only get you so far so fast. Ruby was fast but even she couldn't outrun any of Atlas' flying tech. Weiss had told her where Yang was and that Atlas was already hunting her. She'd also tried to stop Ruby from going to help her sister. How Weiss had known where Yang had gone and why she'd been more obstinate than usual in preventing Ruby from doing something dangerous, were questions for another time. A time when her sister wasn't in grave danger.

She needed to get to Yang right now. Atlas was out for blood and Yang didn’t realize how much pressure the Grimm were currently putting on Beacon’s borders. Ruby knew that if she could just get to Yang and explain everything, she could stop this before it got too far. Ozpin seemed to know it as well, he’d let her loose and tasked her with getting Yang back safe and sound. He’d told her what would happen when Yang’s escape became public and what Atlas might do if they caught her first. But Ruby would get Yang first, she had to.

_Just like in the stories. I can save Yang and Vale._

A roar sounded overhead and Ruby looked up to see a cadre of Atlas soldiers flying through the sky leaning out the open door of a bullhead. These soldiers looked different than the usual brand of Atlas grunts Ruby had seen before, they were bigger bulkier and wielded non-standard issue weapons.

_They must be specialists. oh no! _She thought as the ship sped towards the tree line accompanied by two Atlas fighters.

_I remember when I was happy to see those in the air _Ruby never thought she’d look back to the breach of Vale with rose-tinted glasses but here she was. She shook her head and banished the thoughts from her mind, she needed to focus on the task at hand.

As Ruby breached through the foliage surrounding the forest of single fall she realized that she may have greatly underestimated both Yang’s chances and how determined Atlas was to get her back.

The forest of single fall was a war zone. 2 dozen Atlas soldiers were strewn throughout the clearing, one was punched into the fallen tree trunk, a few were planted into the dirt like tent pegs and one was even stuck in a tree. As for the rest of the clearing, dust! The trunk was split in half, there were bullet holes everywhere and parts of the nearby forest was on fire. Atlas Machines were ripped into half a hundred pieces, there was even a droid that was stuck inside another droid.

_Bringing Yang back might not be as easy as I first thought_

Ruby jumped up on the split tree trunk and began scanning the horizon, looking for any sign of the Atlas forces or her sister. “Come on where are you?” Ruby muttered right before an explosion rang out about half a mile north of her position. “Oh there”

Ruby pumped her aura into her legs and focused on powering her semblance. Running like this would quickly eat away at her Aura but she had to get to Yang. She had to stop this.

_I’ll bring her home_

* * *

**Yang**

Yang ducked beneath the swinging flail, again it only missed her by a hairsbreadth. The giant spiked ball collided with a tree a footway, rending the tree apart in a shower of wood and sap. The Damn thing was heavy, but the Atlas specialist could swing it at speeds Yang couldn't even keep up with. With a flick of his wrist, the bulky specialist swung the flail down towards the top of Yang's skull. She poured what little Aura she had left into her legs and sprung back.

The huge specialist laughed at Yang, it was hearty and filled with cruelty. The man himself was dressed in scarred, dented, grey Atlas armor and was the size of a freakin fridge. His armor must have been sized huge extra-large but it still looked 1 size too small for this goliath. In his hand he held a chain, not a flail handle no that wouldn't be metal enough, the dude just grabbed onto a huge chain attached to a giant spiked ball.

_Guess not all of Atlas is as civilized as Weiss_ Yang thought between heaving breaths.

Yang was a wreck, her clothes were torn, she was bleeding from a cut on her lip and her aura was almost completely spent. Fighting the 2 dozen Atlas grunts had been a pain, the first specialist had been a dogfight and she was pretty sure that this specialist was going to rip her apart. She was confident that tiny over there knew it too, because he was grinning at her like a Beowulf stumbling upon 2 girls lost in the woods. 

“Surrender lost bird” the giant man spoke in a soft falsetto voice that freaked Yang the heck out. “Give up and we’ll take you back to a proper cage”

“Why would I do that when I have you on the ropes?” she responded spitting a halfhearted defiance at the giant. Her usual confidence was draining from her as she fought this guy, this wasn’t as disheartening a fight as her battle with Neo but she was tired and had been fighting non-stop, she’d have to end this.

“You are brave lost bird but, bravery is not Aura” Yang shot forward right fist pulled back to sock the giant right in his chin. The specialist didn’t even flinch, gripping his chain he swung the spiked ball right into Yang’s path forcing her to abort her attack and retreat. The swinging flail was like a protective bubble around him. A bubble Yang couldn’t breach.

_Dust where is Raven? _The thought sped through her mind as she ducked and dodged the flail. _She said she’d be here. _Suddenly Yang felt a cold chill hit her.

** _Maybe she saw that you were weak and decided you weren’t worth it._ **

_No!_

The flail shattered a bolder a foot from Yang, she dodged the stone shrapnel and hopped into one of the nearby trees.

_I’m not weak! _

** _Then how come you haven’t hit him?_ **

The flail chain wrapped around the tree's trunk and with an audible grunt, the specialist ripped the tree from the ground, roots and all. Yang fell and managed to turn her plummet into a roll.

_Cause I’m out of aura and without a weapon._

** _That sounds more like an excuse. Come on you know what you need to do._ **

Yang did know, but she was unsure if she could do it. She was afraid to do it. Afraid to get hurt. Afraid to get recaptured. Still afraid to cut loose and find out who she'd be once she allowed herself to fight unrestrained. The lack of aura and weapons were excuses, reasons for holding herself back, but for whose benefit? Maybe that's why Raven hadn't shown up, maybe this was a test.

Yang took a deep breath like a swimmer right before the plunge. She could smell the metallic scent of blood, the electric ozone of aura and the stench of sweat. She realized she loved those smells and they were what made fights worthwhile for her. She could feel her eyes turning red, but that crimson seemed to spread not just to her eyes but to envelope her whole body. Her new aura. She released her breath and charged.

“Foolish bird” the Atlesian chuckled as he swung his flail again. The spiked head crashed sideways into the charging Yang and she was smashed between the ball and a nearby tree. The impact shattered her aura and the spikes and tree tore into her flesh sending out jets of red in many directions. Yang's head slumped against the enormous spike ball her golden hair staining red with blood. The enormous specialist smirked and was beginning to pull the ball back to him when Yang's hand shot out and grabbed the recoiling chain. 

The titan frozen as the beaten and bloody blonde glared at him from behind her blood-stained hair. Yang gave the chain a pull, the giant tried to hold on but his last strike had given Yang the power she needed to overcome his immense strength. The flail was torn from his grip. She slid the links of the chain through her hand until she was holding onto the last links of the chain itself. The specialist gave her a nervous smirk.

"Please, you don't know how to use that weapon," he said, eyes watching the spiked ball Yang was now swinging over her head, arrogant grin tattooed on his slab of a face. "Once I get it back you'll…"

Before he could finish his sentence Yang threw the flail. It sped through the air like a rocket and sailed right over the specialist’s head. He turned to watch his weapon fly back towards Beacon academy, the thing flew quite the distance. As soon as his back turned Yang sprinted forward, grabbed him in a bear hug around the waist and suplexed him into the dirt.

Her body was in agony and she was certain that she’d broken at least 1 rib in that last attack, but she wouldn’t be caged again. NEVER AGAIN! The Atlesian rolled with the suplex, but Yang wouldn't give him a moment to himself and before he could stand up she delivered a vicious knee strike to the side of his head. Rage powered her assault. Again and again, she hammered into her opponent, she pulled out every trick she could think of: Wrestling moves, aimed strikes, even her rolling punches, but she was working through his aura while she had none to enhance her attacks. This was the fight of her life and she wasn't going to be weak again.

As he rose Yang slammed her knee into his chin, she struck him so hard he was knocked to his feet. He jabbed at her and she kicked him the in the side of the knee. The specialist swung a roundhouse kick at Yang and she shot a punch right into his side. The whole brawl was a game of Yang avoiding every strike and getting as much damage in at once, she was a glass cannon in every sense of the word.

The giant swung a brutal clothesline at her and she ducked beneath the swinging arm. Yang shot an uppercut to his shoulder joint and heard his aura crack at the strike. Yang couldn’t help but smile, she’d done it, she’d busted through his defenses, the smile died when the back of his fist crashed into her face.

_So dust damned close _Yang thought as she sailed through the sky.

She hit the ground and rolled to a kneeling position. The man was charging right for her, arms outstretched. The specialist pulled his fist back as he bore down on Yang. In the span of a second Yang mustered her remaining strength, reached out and grabbed the incoming arm. With a screaming roar she flipped the giant over her shoulder. The momentum of her throw was enhanced by the speed of his charge, he hit the ground in a thunderous boom and the earth beneath him fractured. A loud snapping sound erupted from his shoulder as the specialist was planted into the dirt.

Time slowed down for Yang Xiao Long, she couldn’t believe it, she’d done it. She’d won a fight she shouldn’t have been able to win, she’d let loose and won out. SHE WAS STRONG! She felt a smile spread over her face as the Atlas giant struck the dirt.

**BANG**!

And then Yang’s left shoulder exploded in a shower of blood and bone fragments.

* * *

**Ruby**

_Oh no, nonononononono. _Ruby’s mind was in full panic mode. _What have I done? _She thought to herself. But she already knew the answer to that.

She’d shot her sister.

She was aiming for the Atlas specialist when he was rushing towards Yang but in that last second Yang had switched positions and Ruby had put a bullet into her. The shot had hit Yang in her left shoulder and with no aura left to protect her Yang’s shoulder just burst from the force of the bullet. The Blonde girl just collapsed to her knees gripping the wound that was just hemorrhaging blood. Red Ichor was just gushing through Yang’s fingers. Ruby wanted to throw up and then Yang turned towards where the bullet had come from. Towards Ruby. Her sister's eyes locked with her and Ruby was filled with shame. Yang's face shifted from confusion to recognition and finally to sadness. Tears streaked down her face, they were pouring from red eyes

“I’m sorry Yang!” Ruby shouted at her sister. Before she could say another word Yang let out a scream that rang through the forest, it was not a scream of not just physical pain but of personal pain.

Slowly Yang struggled to her feet, her whole body was shaking as she rose. Her sister shook like a wounded animal, pale, covered in rags and breathing heavily. Ruby ran to her. She had to explain everything to Yang. She had to apologize. She had to stop her from leaving. It took her an instant to catch up with the wounded Yang. She reached out a hand and rested it on Yang’s shoulder. The blonde girl spun around, smacking Ruby’s hand away from her.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” she screamed at Ruby, tears still pouring down her face. Yang was a wreck Ruby realized, her clothes were in tatters, she had hundreds of cuts all over her body and her left arm was hanging limp from her desiccated shoulder. Ruby had arrived too late to save her sister. Even if she’d not shot Yang she still would have arrived too late, Yang was feral, her fighting style was more brutal than ever and yet… and yet she still had to try and bring Yang home

“…yang” Ruby’s voice came out as a whisper. “Yang you need to come back” Yang’s eye started twitching.

“What?” she asked through gritted teeth.

"Ozpin said you needed to come back, He sent me to bring you in he says he can..." Ruby started to say when Yang's forehead crashed into her nose. Ruby jolted back from the blow and gripped her bruised nose, her aura had prevented any real damage from developing but that still hurt like hell. Her silver eyes gazed back up at Yang and for the first time in her life, she saw hatred in her sister's eyes.

"You betrayed me," Yang said slowly, coldly and without another word she turned away from Ruby and ran in the forest. Ruby couldn't even muster the strength to follow after her.

_Nonononono please no_

* * *

**Yang**

Yang stumbled through the woods. She was out of energy, and out of reasons to care. She was running on automatic, putting one foot in front of the other merely out of habit. She could hear Atlas forces moving through the woods right now, she could even feel the eyes of Grimm upon her and she didn't care which one got her first. Her shoulder was in agony and she could barely move her left arm, she'd been shot and Ruby was the one who shot her.

_Of course, she did. This day wouldn't be completely terrible if anyone else shot me._

Yang's foot caught on a root and she collapsed on the forest floor. She lay there for a few seconds and just listened to the forest, she tried to filter out the Grimm, and the Atlas guards and focus on the sounds of the forest and its wildlife. She thought of Weiss while she laid there. Beautiful Weiss.

_Goodbye Weiss, never got that kiss did I?_ She thought to herself adding that to the list of regrets she'd had. Then a bird cawed overhead. A raven. Yang looked up from the dirt and saw a woman standing in front of her wearing a Grimm mask. The woman was reaching down towards Yang hand extended.

_Raven. _

Without saying a word Yang reached out and took her mother’s hand. And she let unconsciousness take her.

“Rest Yang”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by @tovanori on Tumblr, its fantastic I love it and it predates the fic I hope I did it justice


	11. Hunting a Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunt for Yang gets closer and closer

_Well, this situation's degraded_ Yang thought to herself as she watched Atlas forces strip search yet another Caravan heading into the Vacuo desert. These Atlesians weren’t messing around either, they were partially tearing apart the caravans in their mad search, checking every crook and crevasse. If it could possibly fit a particularly cramped Yang they were looking in it. _Anal jerks. Who wants me that bad?_

D’Aulony’s disguise was working well enough for Yang to monitor the Atlas forces from a distance without fear of being recognized but it was wearing off. Already her black hair was returning to its natural blonde in streaks of gold. The tattoos were also fading forcing her to hide in alleyways, darkened corners and wear a hood when outside. She was running out of time. She needed to leave Vacuo and as much as she’d like to simply beat her way out of it she knew she’d be screwed if she tried.

Yang heaved out a sigh, all this had to happen because she wanted to have fun with the White Fang. Of course Sun had to show up and of course, the Fang lieutenant had to mumble the wrong thing. Of course. Of course. Of Fuckin Course.

Turning away from the caravan she headed back into the city of Vacuo and back to Junior’s new bar. Junior had been kind enough to agree to harbor Yang while she waited for her extraction, for a significant price that is. Yang couldn’t be mad at Junior, he was acting in the interest of his own survival and heck he hadn’t sold her out, despite how lucrative that could have been. Junior understood how this world works and Yang could respect that. Besides his bar was always playing a rocking beat that Yang just loved.

As she walked back to the bar a familiar sound hit her ear. _Bullheads_. She looked up and saw a small contingent of the ships soaring overhead and towards Shade academy. That didn’t scan and Yang knew it. Yes bullheads were excellent transport ships but they weren’t the main ships that Vacuo or Atlas used, Atlas had their own transports that were heavier and with white in their design while Vacuo used things that resembled flying sand skimmers. Bullheads were mainly used by Beacon huntsmen. Which meant…

_No _Yang thought, feeling the twitch come back to her right hand. _It could mean a whole number of things, besides that! But if it is them. What did mom say?_

**Willful ignorance is not something anyone in our line of work can afford. All suspicions should be followed up. Your paranoia is your friend**

Yang arched her back and let out an exasperated sigh. She loved Raven but this week had been nothing but work work work. And if this was what Yang suspected it was then the situation was going to get way more stressful than she’d like. Knitting her fingers together she stretched her arms above her head and smiled at the satisfying sound of her spine cracking.

_If I’m going to do this I might as well be prepped for it. Well physically prepped for it at least._

In an instant she was back on the rooftops of Vacuo and jumping from roof to roof, soaring between buildings inching ever closer to Shade academy and to what she suspected was a long-overdue confrontation.

* * *

The campus of Shade academy, like Vacuo, was unique among its peers, It was an open-air campus with classrooms built into red rock cliffs. All of it was surrounding an oasis filled with pristine blue water. Students milled about the campus all of them tanned and beautiful. Classes were taught either on the tops of rocky outcroppings or beneath the shade of palm trees. One campus ‘Building' was just an enormous tent.

Parked near the giant tent was the Bullhead Yang had spotted and now that she was closer she could see that it was from Beacon, the pilot, who'd stepped out of the vehicle, wore standard Beacon issued armor.

_It’s from Beacon. So what! that could mean anything…_

The side door to the bullhead opened up and Yang's eyes widened at what she saw; team JN_R all armed to the teeth and loaded for bear. Yang's heart beat faster as her eyes desperately sought out Pyrrha Nikos. Only after she'd looked over the interior of the bullhead 3 times over did she allow herself to relax, Pyrrha wasn't with them.

“Thank dust” she muttered to herself, mind drifting back to the last time she had seen the invincible girl. She shivered as the memories came back to her. “That would make this a whole other ball game”

Yang had only seen Pyrrha Nikos once after her ‘Ascension' and it'd not been pretty. Yang might be damaged and downright evil somedays, but Pyrrha was just monstrous. Any fight with her would end poorly for Yang and Yang knew it.

_Invincible girl aside Team JN_R is looking well. Nora seems chipper as always._ Yang smiled despite it all she felt an urge pulling at her to go and greet her former classmates. Just walk through shade academy and act like the past 2 years never happened. But she knew that that would never work out, she'd encountered members of team JN_R in the field before and despite their former friendship, they'd been relentless in their pursuit of her. 

_Nora’s jaw seems to have fixed itself though._ She thought, allowing herself a slight smirk, that’d been a fun as hell fight_! _Well for Yang that is, Nora seemed to have enjoyed it significantly less. Yang scanned the sky and the rest of the campus, being sure to keep team JN_R always in the corner of her vision. She smiled when she saw the absence of other Bullheads or Atlas flyers in the air. _Thank dust for that at least she’s not here._

Then a rose petal slowly fell from the sky right into Yang’s field of view.

“Oh no”

A red flash shot through the crowd of shade students, faster than most eyes, even the average huntsmen’s eyes could track. Yang focused her aura to her eyes and followed the red blur as it tore through the campus right to Jaune. Jaune was barely able to turn in time to see Ruby jumping through the air to tackle him right in the chest. The tackle knocked Jaune to the ground with Ruby sat on his chest. Jaune looked like he got the wind knocked out of him and Ruby was hoisting her arms up in a sign of victory before turning to look at Jaune with a smug grin.

"She's here," Yang said nostalgia leaving her being replaced by something more rotten. "The situation has devolved from bad to worse" Yang could feel her heart hammering on the inside of her chest, red-hot anger building inside her and the need to unleash that anger on everyone present.

_Mom wouldn't like us getting arrested._

Yang gave ruby one last glare before turning away from her and walking towards the edge of campus. There was something inside of her that wanted to roar, scream and tear into Ruby and team JN_R but Yang wasn't going to let her fury cloud her judgment this time. _If Ruby's here than the rest of the team must be as well. Oh, joy a big reunion._

* * *

**Ruby**

“Jaunnnnneeeeee!!!” Ruby shouted as she soared through the air into the leader of Team JN_R. they fell to the ground in a heap and Ruby ended-up atop her friend. Lifting her arms in mock triumph she smiled down at Jaune who lifted his own arms in mock surrender. “and the undisputed champion remains Ruby Rose! What’s up Jaune?”

"Just got off the bullhead actually…Uh, Ruby, would you mind getting off my chest?"

The redhead obliged her friend but not before sticking her tongue out at her defeated opponent. She'd been happy to finally be back amongst friends, Vacuo for all its beauty and inclusivity was a city that was less than welcoming to her. Yang's actions at the Vytal festival had not shown her team in a favorable light and had damaged her own reputation as a leader. 

**What kind of leader can’t control her own sister! She’s too young for this line of work! Some leader, couldn’t spot a psychopath on her own team.**

They said it at Beacon too, but never to Ruby's face and usually in hushed tones and not at all when Weiss was in a room. They even had a nickname for team RWB_ now they called them team Rube, it had taken Weiss a long time to stamp that one out. Ever since the incident, Weiss had become the team's de-facto bruiser and Ruby’s steadfast guardian. No one insulted team RWBY or Ruby herself anywhere near Weiss and any who did quickly learned not to. But team JN_R were different than the rest of Beacon, they never had to have Weiss set on them. Ever since what happened to Pyrrha they've sort of been in the same boat. Only they got congratulations for their loss, not mockery.

Ruby extended Jaune her hand and helped the older boy up. He gave her the small weak smile he always had, he was really incapable of anything happier. He glanced around the rest of the campus searching, gaze briefly stopping on some far off image before shaking his head.

"Nothing" he muttered to himself, Ruby gave him a worried look, he'd been doing that more and more lately and it was getting harder and harder to pull him out of it. She gently rested her hand on his shoulder and he seemed to snap out of his trance looking back at the Redhead. "Sorry Ruby, uh where's the rest of your team?"

"Blake's in the dirt and Weiss's with the atlas fellows and I'm with students," she said trying to pour her positive energy into Jaune as she did, the boy needed the boost. "So I guess we're back to where we all were 3 years ago."

"Guess so," he said with forced enthusiasm that would have to do for now Ruby decided. "What are we doing here then?"

“Apparently a student here saw Yang” Ruby answered flicking through her scroll till she came upon the witness’s file, she did this to update team JN_R rather than remind herself. “Norn Mjol, she almost caught Yang”

“Everyone almost catches Yang” Nora chirped in with only the faintest hint of bitterness “What happened when she found Yang?”

"Yang apparently kicked her so hard her voice broke" Nora rubbed at her chin remembering the last time she saw the Sun Dragon.

"Yeah that sounds about right," she said chipper tone dying slightly. The air seemed to blow colder for an instant as a cloud moved between them and the sun overhead.

_That’s not a good sign_. Ruby thought as she and team JN_R walked through campus. _I hope Weiss and Blake are alright._

* * *

**Weiss**

“What a mess” Weiss stepped around a set of teeth that had pooled together on the warehouse floor. “Dust there’s teeth everywhere”

She wasn't wrong, though the Vacuo huntsmen and huntresses had retrieved all the unconscious White fang members present in the warehouse they'd neglected to pick up all their… ‘leftover bits'. A broken antler here, a pile of teeth there and of course blood staining every inch.

"This was a massacre" one of the atlas specialists present grunted back to her. She hadn't intended that to be a question but the atlas forces rarely cared what Weiss wanted. The Warehouse had about 6 Atlas grunts milling about and 2 specialists scanning the warehouse with an assortment of equipment. One of the specialists was the stereotypical soldier, grizzled to hell with scars running all along his body barely taking time to grunt in response while the other was dressed dapper as hell and Weiss was already acquainted with him, Flynt Coal. She hadn't seen the Trumpet player since the doubles round of the Vytal Festival.

_That’ll serve as my in_

Weiss marched towards the well-dressed Atlassian, her boots disturbing a piled up set of Faunus teeth sending them all scattering across the floor like dice. Were this 2 years ago Weiss would have tip-toed around these teeth too disgusted to even touch them, but two years was a long time and she had become much less squeamish since then. By the time she'd approached Flynt her boots were stained with brown blood and a Faunus canine was stuck to her heel. 

"Flynt Coal" he turned towards Weiss as she called his name, he looked down his sunglasses at her and for the briefest of moments, he didn't recognize her. When he did his face changed exactly how Weiss expected it would.

"Weiss Schnee the Heiress" there was only mockery in his voice and it was without comradery. He and the rest of Atlas had already declared her a failure and to some, she was a traitor as well. "What are you doing here Schnee?"

She scoffed at him, she couldn’t help it, it was in her blood. “It’s just Weiss Schnee now actually”

"Oh yeah, your brother's the Heir now isn't he. Apparently, a failure of a daughter doesn't make a good Heir" he pulled out his trumpet and played a short sad toon _Whomp Whomp_. Though she really wanted to roll her eyes she resisted the urge, she needed his help despite his imperfect attitude. He kept his trumpet out, Weiss knew how dangerous that instrument could be, it was worse than a loaded gun. "What are you doing here Schnee?"

"Hunting," she said simply, bending down and retrieving a cracked antler. She rolled the severed antler between her fingers and examined it like a particularly interesting dust crystal. "What do you have?"

Flynt sent the other specialist an incredulous glance, the soldier didn’t look up from the tooth on the ground he was examining. “Are you serious? Why should I give you anything?”

“Well I can see this going 1 of 3 ways” she lifted up 1 finger. “1 you guys help me in my investigation, we pool resources and we find Ms.Xiao-Long a lot quicker” she lifted the 2nd finger “2 you keep all the information to yourselves and I investigate alone unimpeded. Which will mean we both will race to find Ms.Xiao-Long” the Atlas grunts seemed to laugh at the 2nd proposal.

“Something funny?” she asked turning the mock naiveté up to eleven. Flynt himself had to chuckle.

“Yeah” he answered “we’re all wondering what this third option was since those 2 are out of the question”

Weiss gave Flynt a smile as she extended her third finger and a Glyph appeared at her feet. “3 if you don’t allow me to investigate properly I beat you and your men into a pulp and wring the information I need from your broken bodies, then I find Ms.Xiao-Long while you all are recovering in some hospital bed”

The tension in the room became palpable and the air took on an icy chill. The Atlas grunts were unsure how to react, Flynt put on a carefree smile but Weiss could tell it was forced.

"Really Schnee you want to join your friend on an Atlas wanted poster?" Weiss gave a flick of her wrist as if she was swatting away an annoying fly. A glowing blue boarbatusk climbed out of the glyph at Weiss' feet, she reached down and gave the small creature a pet not bothering to look at the Atlas forces.

“Last I checked Atlas doesn’t have jurisdiction over this case, you’ve no right to keep me from the investigation and Vacuo courts don’t exactly love the Atlas military” metal armor started to crawl up from the glyph, followed by a brutish looking White Fang member covered in spines who was followed by an alpha Beowulf. More and more things poured from the Glyph at Weiss’ feet. “but I think cooler heads might prevail today”

Flynt fingered his trumpet like a gunslinger fiddling with his six-shooter. The Atlas forces were looking at all the creatures Weiss had slain in her life each more horrifying than the last and they shuddered to see that a number of them weren’t Grimm.

"Aight, we'll go with option 2 Schnee" Flynt finally relented to Weiss and with a flick, the summonings vanished like smoke on the wind. She gave Flynt a smile though there was little joy in it she was grateful to see some manners still prevailed in her homeland.

* * *

_She was never one for half measures anyway_ Weiss mused as she found Yang's footprints on the ground, be they blood stains or cracks in the cement. She placed her feet in Yang's footfalls and began walking through the steps Yang took, rebuilding her assault through the compound. It had been 2 years since she had last seen Yang and she knew her fighting style would likely have changed in that time. Learning her new-style would be crucial to subduing her non-lethally Weiss knew as she danced through the battlefield and rubble.

_She’s much more aggressive than before_ Weiss thought as she made a palm strike on an invisible enemy. _But each strike is purposeful, meant to elicit certain reactions, her technique has become more precise._

Weiss saw a dent in a shipping container and reasoned that Yang had slammed a white fang member’s head into it at some point.

_Precise despite rage_

The Atlesians were giving her odd looks as she moved through the battlefield mimicking the movements of her former teammate. Even though she was on a job Weiss had to face the facts, this was the closest she’d been to Yang in over 2 years and she couldn’t help a smile spread across her face as she realized Yang had maintained an excellent form throughout the battle.

_She’s better than ever. We can’t afford to take her lightly._ _Better tell Ruby about my findings._

* * *

**Blake**

The interview with the Lieutenant had gone as well as Blake had expected it to go; he threw curses, insults, and racial slurs while she stood there and took the abuse. Once she revealed her Faunus heritage he actually calmed down and became more cooperative, operating under the assumption that she was an undercover White fang agent.

_Which is not entirely untrue_

From him she learned that Yang had apparently ripped through the white fang like tissue paper and fought like a berserker, unleashing random violence wherever she could.

"She wore an Ursa mask," he said when she'd asked him what gear she had. There was a terror in his words as he spoke. Though his wrist was chained to the hospital bed he still managed to reach out and grab Blake's wrist. His hand was trembling not out of anger but out of an anxiety that this Grimm masked face would find him again. "She was an Ursa! A Grimm wearing human meat! A new monster made by Atlas sent here to wipe us out"

Blake had to ignore the pleading in his voice, he needed comfort that she neither could nor would grant him. This man was child-killing scum and if he had a heart attack right then and there from fear that Yang would get him in the middle of the night, Blake wouldn’t be able to muster the ability to care. But she didn’t lash out at him for grabbing her.

“Where can I find her?” she asked hoping he might make her search just a little bit easier.

“No idea” he answered “But I know a guy who might have an idea”

* * *

The Club Blake had been sent too was very different from those usually found in Vacuo. Open-air, pools and starry skies were replaced with an enclosed space a bunch of glass and a heavy rocking beat. The place reminded Blake of a bar that used to be in Vale in fact. This was a place she’d expect Yang to be hiding, the music, the lights, and the booze, it all screamed of a place Yang would love to be. A large man with greying black hair and a facial scar stopped Blake as she tried to walk to the dance floor.

“Hey I don’t know you” his voice was gruff as he gestured to the open scroll in his hand. Blake locked eyes with the larger man, he didn’t turn away or show any weakness.

_Tougher than your average bear_

"What do you want?" he asked like a businessman rather than someone looking to start a fight.

"I'm looking for someone"

“Who?”

“Yang Xiao Long” the large man’s face deflated at that as if that was the last thing he wanted to hear today. _So he had seen her, good then he might know where she is._

“Welp you’ve found her” the voice cut through the noise, clear as day, it emanated from the bar. Junior massaged his temples as Blake turned towards the direction of the voice and saw her former partner sat at the bar gazing at her with Crimson eyes.

She looked different, her hair was straighter and tied in a ponytail, she had a Grimm pattern kimono hanging from the belt at her waist, her gauntlets looked like Grimm bone plates. The strangest change was the visage of an Ursa sat atop her head. She was slumped against the bar with a look of boredom on her face.

"It's been a while, Blake," she said as Ember Celica unfurled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the gap in uploads, been away working.


	12. Sweet Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven finds her daughter and Blake finds her partner... with very different results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Play Richy Nix's Revenge during the Yang Blake fight scene.

She looked so small, and even with all that blood on her, she seemed so young. A bleeding broken child. Her child. 

Yang stirred in her sleep on the floor of the cave Raven had secreted them away too, one of her many bases near Beacon. The cave was small, filled with little dust powered electronic heaters and a couple blankets, it was not meant as a permanent living space but simply as a base of operations around Beacon. It had taken her a few minutes to find Yang after her escape. She’d wanted to step in so many times when she fought against the Atlas forces, especially when that giant brute mocked her girl. Raven paused for a moment considering.

_Is she even my little girl anymore? Do I have the right to call her that?_

Raven knew she couldn’t let these thoughts consume her, especially not right now when Yang’s life hung in the balance. She pulled _Yureru_ from its scabbard and set herself to work sharpening one of its many dust blades. Despite her wanting to interfere she knew that Yang had to overcome these challenges herself, she couldn’t get anyone else’s help, not from her mother not from anyone. Raven knew that if she’d intervened then Yang would never forgive her, stopping her murder was one thing but meddling in a fight she could win on her own was another. There was already something to connect mother and daughter that fear they shared. The fear of weakness.

The Whetstone hissed softly as it traveled down the length of the dust-blade. Yang turned in her sleep again and started to tug at the bandage encasing her left shoulder. It had taken Raven an age to fully sew Yang back together and it'd been made more difficult due to the fact that Yang had fallen unconscious halfway through the procedure. Raven reached down and gently removed Yang's pawing hand from her fresh bandage. She wasn't much of a healer and she couldn't risk Yang tearing open her fresh stitches. She ran her hand across her daughter's head, stroking her golden hair, Yang's fitful sleep quickly became more restful.

_She’s beautiful_ Raven thought. When she’d saved Yang on the train she’d barely had an opportunity to really look at her offspring, but now she could finally see her. _She has so much of Tai in her._

Everyone had always told Raven that her daughter was the spitting image of her. Dust, Qrow always brought it up when he could get in contact. But to her they weren’t entirely correct, it wasn’t that they were wrong it’s just that they didn’t see everything. Yang didn’t have her mother’s smirk, she had her Father’s smile. Her face wasn’t as exhausted as Raven’s, it had Tai’s energy. She walked with her father’s confidence and joy and rarely with Raven’s sense of purposeful determination.

_That might change_

Raven knew what an event like this could do to a person, what isolation and betrayal can burn through. Hell, she'd inflicted that on Tai himself and saw that tear him apart. The whetstone stopped halfway down her blade. Tai was far away from her now and she couldn't hurt him from this far away. A part of Raven knew that, but a stronger part knew that was a lie.

_I at least had Summer when it happened_ Raven rested her hand atop Yang’s head _you don’t even have that._

The Faunus didn't trust her. The Heiress sold out her location. And Summer's daughter had shot her through the shoulder. The whetstone creaked under Raven's grip, spindling cracks spread out from the tips of her fingers. When this had happened to her she'd been the one who severed ties with the team, not the other way around. She'd made the decision. She'd made the choice, not had the choice made for her. Yang shivered on the cold cave floor and Raven's anger dissipated.

“Oh, Yang” she crooned. “You didn’t deserve this”

No she didn't, but Ozpin had brought her into this war, he'd made her a piece on the board. Because of his little morality play, he'd put her little girl in the line of fire. First her brother, then her team, then her best friend and finally her daughter. 

_I should have taken her on the train_ Raven thought to herself anger boiling inside her. She could feel her own rage threatening to explode out of her, to go out and try to hammer Ozpin for what he’d allowed to happen. To smile as Yureru was planted to its hilt in Ozpin’s chest. _For all the good that’d do_

She took a deep breath, focused on her inner aura and spoke her mantras of calming. Soon the raging storm within her turned into a soft steady falling of waves, order within herself was restored, for a moment at least. Ozpin was due a reckoning but as she looked at her wounded daughter shivering on the floor of a cave she realized she’d be no better than Ozpin if she ignored the needs of her daughter again. Raven grabbed another blanket and draped it over her shivering girl before returning to sharpening her blade.

_She needs to rest, it won’t be easy from here on in. _And Raven allowed her daughter a full night's sleep uninterrupted by bad dreams, monsters or the thought of impending doom. Instead, she hummed a soft melody Summer had taught her once and for the first time in a while, Yang was at peace.

* * *

The following morning they ate light and barely talked. They were on the run and now wasn’t the time for idle chat or questions and Raven was concerned with Yang’s stamina. When Yang had finished devouring her third helping of rations Raven finally spoke up.

"Can you run?" she asked tone neutral. Yang looked up at her, a bit of meat hanging out of her mouth. There was confusion on her face but with a swallow, she'd downed the dried meat and gave her mother a smile.

"Uh I think so," she said that like a student nervous about an angry teacher. "I just needed rest and food in me is all"

“Can you fight?” Raven asked eyes boring into the younger blonde

"I don't know mayb-" Raven shot forward and her hand wrapped around Yang's throat lifting her up into a standing position. Yang hadn't had time to bring up her aura. At that moment Raven could have crushed Yang's throat if she wanted to. Raven glared into Yang's red blazing eyes.

“We aren’t in the dream world Daughter, you need to be stronger than that! Faster than that! Do you understand me?” Yang nodded frantically, Raven slowly set her daughter down before taking a step back. “Your training begins now Daughter mine. First lesson” Raven held up a finger “It doesn’t matter if you are starving, broken or dying, if you can breathe you can fight or flee”

Yang rubbed her throat with a look on her face that was a mixture of anger and confusion, Raven merely responded with a haughty lift of her chin. With a flick of her sword, she'd carved a portal into the air itself, the portal pulsed like a beating heart and Yang took a half step back from it. 

“Yang what I’m going to put you through will be brutal, it will seem cruel at some points and at other points you will hate me for what I’ve done” for a split second Raven allowed the angry stoicism to fall from her features and real concern to show on her face. Her voice softened and when she spoke next her words were tinged with trepidation. “But you won’t survive out there if I don’t put you through this. So here’s your last chance, to return to Beacon and imprisonment or remain with me and earn your freedom”

Yang to her credit didn’t flinch she lifted her chin in defiance of her mother and stepped through the portal. Only when Yang had entered the Portal did Raven allow herself to smile at her daughter’s choice. She was proud of her and the strength it took her to make the choice she did.

* * *

**Present**

Junior's bar exploded into Chaos as the two huntresses engaged one another. Yang against Blake, partner against partner. Yang was somersaulting over tables, walls, and chairs while Blake seemed to phase in and out of existence whenever Yang's shells should have hit her. Yang sent barrage after barrage of shells towards Blake, who hardly bothered to dodge the assault instead preferring to let her semblance take the hit and allow her to keep moving. She was on the warpath towards Yang.

Blake collided with Yang, knocking her into a wall, Gambol shroud pressing towards Yang’s throat barely held back by the new Ember Celica. Blake locked eyes with her former partner. She’d expected to see anger, accusation and maybe even regret, but all she saw within those crimson eyes was annoyance and boredom.

Blake's stoic façade cracked at that and Yang's knee pounded into the Faunus girl's stomach knocking her back. She followed the knee with a double fist slam into Blake's chest. Her former partner stumbled back barely managing to keep her feet, weapon raised expecting Yang to continue the assault, but to her shock, Yang didn't. Yang instead stood a fair distance away from her former partner arms held out in a pose that gave off an air of relaxation. Blake did not lower her guard but she didn't follow up on the attack either, she was simply too confused.

_Where's the fury? Where're the accusations? Why is she so quiet?_

“Yang” Blake's voice was calm and low, like an animal handler faced with a particularly dangerous beast. She tossed Gambol shroud to her off hand in an attempt to put Yang at ease. Yang simply rested her hand on her hip and tilted her head to one side. “We’re here to bring you back. The rest of team RWBY is here to bring you in. We don’t want to fight you but we will if you make us.”

Again Yang gave no response. Of all the possibilities Blake had imagined this was not one of them. Had it been Adam he would have talked endlessly about her betrayal and about what he was going to inflict on her. While she hadn't expected exactly that from Yang she had expected some boisterous response that would be a perverse twist on Yang's old passion. When Yang finally spoke however it wasn't a scream it was just calm. It reminded Blake of a long-ago conversation between them.

"Blake, remember when I told you about my mother? When I was trying to talk to you about the dangers of all-consuming obsession?" There was no joy in Yang's words not even hints of nostalgia just calm questioning. Blake nodded in response switching Gambol shroud back to its proper hand and drawing one of her dust knives. “Well since I found mom, my obsession has shifted to why you guys stabbed me in the back and what I’d say when I finally found you again. What would I say? What answers would I demand from you? Then I realized that I don’t need words for this.

“JUNIOR!” Yang shot finger guns up at the giant sat behind the DJ table, he gave Yang a slightly frightened look. “Play my revenge beat!”

With a nod, Junior flipped another disc onto the track. The music began with an ominous tone that quickly was drowned out by a heavy rocking beat and techno scream. Blake felt that the sound was beating down on her but Yang spread her arms out and seemed to bask in the heavy rocking sound.

“That’s the one” and in a blur of motion, she surged towards Blake. She was moving like lightning, difficult to track even for an experienced huntress.

Blake threw the dust blade at Yang, with a quick motion Yang snatched the blade out of the air and smashed it into Blake's chest. Ice encased Blake's torso and Yang spun around and brought a spinning ax kick right at the Faunus girl's collarbone. Blake barely managed to lean back out of reach of the attack.

Yang's heel smashed the ice from Blake's chest, hit the dance floor and sent shattered bits of stone and glass flying into the air, and still, she pressed on at her former partner with renewed vigor. 

_Dust, she's faster than we thought. _Blake thought, bringing Gambol Shroud in a downward slash at Yang. The Blonde brought her own katana up to block Blake’s cut before slamming her other fist into Blake’s stomach. Blake’s aura took the hit but then Yang pulled her fist back a single inch and slammed it back right into Blake’s lower rib.

The semblance clone disintegrated entirely while Blake was launched 2 yards away from Yang, stumbling at the force of the ejection she’d just suffered. _And stronger too, if that’d hit me it would have broken a rib._

Yang looked down at her fist as if intrigued by what it’d just done.

"Mom taught me that one," she said not looking away from her fist "Haven't been able to properly pull it off till now actually."

_That’s worrying_

Blake threw a set of 3 dust knives towards Yang who deflected 2 but the third struck her feet, blasting her back in a torrent of lightning. Grabbing the tassel end of her Katana, Blake swung the weapon towards Yang firing its pistol component at the same time. The blade slashed the falling blonde again and again until Yang landed on the dance floor. As the swinging blade came in for another swing Yang brought her wrist up and the tassel wrapped around it. Blake gave the cord a quick pull but Yang's stance was like that of a mountain; rooted to where she stood. She only lurched half a step forward. 

Yang gave Blake a small half-smile before turning away from her partner, slamming her foot into the floor and pulling the tassel over her shoulder with tremendous force. Blake, still holding on to her weapon was flung over Yang’s shoulder and slammed into the nearby bar. The wind was knocked out of Blake and her analytical mind was trying desperately to keep itself together.

_She hasn’t forgotten any of my techniques. Far stronger than assumed. She mentioned her mother. She was prepared for this. Where’s my dust crystals?_

All the scrambled thoughts died as she ducked below the bar narrowly avoiding shots from Yang's Gauntlets. She gave GS's tassel a quick flick to untangle it but found the cord was still taut. She peeked from behind the bar and saw Yang holding the weapon by the gun handle itself. Yang was smirking at her former partner, with another flick of her wrist Gambol shroud fired a shot right into Yang's masked head and the blonde let go of the weapon.

Smoke from the gunshot cleared from Yang's face revealing Red eyes flashing behind the Grimm mask. For a second Blake felt fear.

“You ever think about how our semblances are the polar opposites of each other?” Yang spoke as if she hadn’t just taken a bullet to the face. _This isn’t a good sign_. “You’re is pure avoidance of an issue”

Yang unleashed a quick flurry of jabs towards Blake firing Ember Celica with each punch. Blake managed to dodge a few before she was forced to utilize her semblance. The EC round struck right in her mirror image’s face.

"While mine…" Blake wouldn't allow Yang to finish her sentence, she flung herself over the bar and towards Yang, hammering the cleaver portion of Gambol shroud into Yang's collarbone. Her former partner was knocked to one knee, but Blake knew she couldn't let up there. Spinning from Yang she swung Gambol Shroud's blade right at Yang's face, trusting her former partner's aura to take the blow. As she felt the strike hit it stopped suddenly, Yang had caught the blade in her hand and was holding it. Her eyes traveled from the blade up to Blake and that fear wiggled its way back into Blake's head.

"… is all about taking the punishment and growing stronger from it" with quick motion Yang pulled Gambol Shroud down, Blake was thrown off balance by the pull and had barely enough time to register Yang's hand wrapping around her throat. With a roar, Yang choke-slammed her former partner into the dancefloor. The wind was knocked clear out of her and Blake could feel unconsciousness pulling her into the ground. It took every ounce of her will to stay conscious. Blake thought about how she'd made a mistake fighting Yang alone and how team RWB had made a grave error.

_She hasn’t withered in isolation, she’s thrived in it. _Blake struggled to her knees trying desperately to suck in a single breath, Yang’s attack had been devastating and it had disrupted her breathing to an intense degree. Just as her rational mind gave into terror at the thought of life without air she was able to breathe again.

“Y-yang” she choked out as her former partner grabbed the back of her hood and lifted her into the air. Blake could do nothing except hang limply and try to keep breathing. Yang turned her partner around to face her, the red eyes beautiful and unblinking.

“Blake, when you wake up” Yang spoke with a calm voice barely concealing her unrequited rage. “Tell the rest of them this ‘You betrayed me’ and tell them not to expect this much mercy next time they come after me”

Before Blake could even nod in agreement Yang tossed her into the Air and unleashed a wicked uppercut to her former partner’s falling chin. As blackness overtook Blake’s mind she thought of Adam, he’d have sought out vengeance against her attacked people she loved to hurt her. But Yang she was only gunning for those who’d wronged her and only because they’d sought her out.

_We’ve made a grave mistake._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please spread this around and leave a review if you can


	13. Memories of Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven and Yang begin training

The training began a week after they’d arrived at the encampment. The encampment was a small base in the middle of a box canyon somewhere in Vale, the canyon was surrounded by forest and rocky outcroppings. Raven often used it as a place to lay low, no one she worked with knew about it, not even her idiot brother. It had taken Yang a frustratingly long time to heal, but Raven was satisfied that the slowness of the healing appeared to have annoyed Yang as much as it annoyed her. But they both suffered through the healing process patiently at this point there was no sense in rushing things. Yang hardly spoke during that time contenting herself to brood over what the fools on the news were calling ‘The Vytal Festival incident’.

_Bunch of idiot nevermores._ Raven was always annoyed by how the media handled a mess like this. It was as if they didn’t understand how the Grimm functioned and what this would do to the already tense border situation in Vale. _And of course, they'll blame Yang's bid for freedom for the increase in Grimm activity, despite being the idiots shouting panic from the rooftops._

Raven closed her scroll and walked outside of the base, to see Yang performing 1 armed push-ups with her left arm.

"Healed up?" Raven asked, Yang, halted mid-push-up, shifted herself into a single-armed plank and looked up at her mother. Her eyes were red and had remained that color since Raven picked her up from the Beacon bloodbath.

"I'm alright" Yang grunted to her mother as she righted herself into a sitting position. She rolled her left shoulder and only winced slightly, almost imperceptibly. "I mean it's been two weeks any more bed rest and my muscles will shrivel. Heh then I'd be all left"

Rather than give that poor attempt at a pun a response, Raven gazed down at Yang analyzing her like she always did; assessing strengths, habits and looking for points of weakness to exploit. She couldn’t help it, Yang might have been her blood but she could also eventually become a threat. Her left shoulder was significantly weaker despite her healing aura and her exercises.

_That could be trouble during training. But she needs to get used to going from crippled to combat, especially now._

"Good, then we'll begin training," she said it as if training was as simple as making breakfast. Yang's eyes widened at that and she scrambled to stand up, wincing as she put weight on her left arm.

“Some part of the training will be simple lessons, mantras for you to hammer into your thick skull” she tapped Yang’s forehead to emphasize the point. Yang glared at her in response. “Other parts will be physical, testing what you can and cannot do with your aura. If you want to live out here on the run you’ll have to lie, cheat, steal and break people. Got it!”

Yang’s red eyes met with her mother’s before nodding at her. “Yeah Raven I got it”

Raven smirked at that, Yang thought she was ready for this. She appreciated the confidence but suspected a bit of arrogance had slipped in, but she was being agreeable and Raven could run with that. She turned away from Yang slowly walking towards one of the cliff faces.

“Lesson 2...”

“Raven” Yang interrupted her mother. Raven turned toward Yang just in time for Yang’s left fist to collide with her jaw. Raven’s Aura managed to catch the blow but it was still shocking none the less. Yang seemed unperturbed by the fact Raven had barely budged an inch from the strike, all she did was glare into Raven.

“You still owe me answers” Yang spoke through gritted teeth.

Raven said nothing as she grabbed Yang’s left wrist and jabbed her in the left shoulder. Yang let out a scream of pain and jumped back clutching her injured shoulder. Raven’s face had remained statue still throughout.

“Lesson 2” she continued as if Yang had only interrupted her with a stupid question and not a punch to the face. “Always be looking for weakness be it in your opponents or in yourself”

“But” Yang was fighting back tears as she spoke, but whether they were caused by pain or not Raven couldn’t say. She wasn’t too good with emotional cues honestly, she could spot dangerous people, yes but when it came to emotions unrelated to combat she was a bit tone deaf. “You said you’d answer my questions”

Raven folded her arms as she looked down on her wounded daughter.

“Then ask them” Yang seemed at a loss for words for a second, she ran her left hand through her hair as she stood there thinking. _No doubt sorting through the whole host of questions she has_.

“Why did you leave?” she finally spoke eyes filled with crimson accusation.

_Starting with THE question huh?_

“Because if I stayed Ozpin would use you and Tai as leverage over me to get me to do his bidding” her heart beat faster as she remembered the words slither out of Ozpin’s snake mouth. He really was a snake shedding bodies like a snake sheds its skin. “No-one, not even the godly Ozpin controls me Daughter! So I had to make it look like I cut ties with anyone who could be used to manipulate me and after...” Raven took a deep breath and felt a shudder run through her “after Summer died I really did cut those ties”

For a minute there was no noise around them except for the sound of the wind blowing through the canyon. Even now she could still picture Summer’s face always kind always understanding and filled with hopeful idealism. Raven felt her shoulder’s slump as her mind drifted back to that place she kept under lock and key. _Summer’s place._

“Mom was really important to you wasn’t she?” a voice cut through her thought, Yang’s voice and it was filled with sympathy.

_I wasn’t the only one who lost summer that day_ Raven realized _I lost a friend and she lost the only mother she ever knew_. Loathe as she was to open up to anyone, even her own daughter, Raven knew she couldn't afford to push her daughter away from her. Still, she turned away from Yang so that she wouldn't see the sadness in Raven's eyes.

"Yes," she finally answered. "She really held the team together, held the family together and one of the only few truly decent people on this blasted rock” Raven could feel her red eye’s pulsing as she recalled Summer’s death. When she spoke her words passed through gritted teeth. “And Ozpin got her killed”

There was a long silence before anyone spoke, Raven had just dropped a bombshell on Yang's life and completely obliterated her trust in her former mentor. She heard Yang shuffling her feet as well as her breath quickening but no hints that Yang might attack her again.

"M-mom" Yang said it strangely like it was the first time she'd spoke that word in a long while. It'd taken Raven by surprise to hear it. She turned towards her daughter, Yang was holding her right bicep eyes looking at the ground, nervous. "I think I'm ready to learn now"

Raven gave Yang a smile, there was pity in the smile but it was not over any weakness Yang possessed it was over their shared loss. She let a warm knowing smile spread across her face as she continued.

“Lesson 3…”

* * *

**Present**

**Chaos is a tool**

Yang could remember the lessons Raven had taught her well enough and as she looked down at the unconscious Blake she considered her situation. She had 24 hours before a real chance of extraction could present itself to her and both team RWB and team JN_R were in the city. Oh, and team SS_N was also on her trail.

_A whole bunch of problems but also a whole bunch of moving parts._

Yang always had a talent for tinkering, be it with her weapons or her numerous bikes, she was always interested in how one moving part working in concert with other moving parts produced a single positive effect. But she was also fascinated by how 1 wrong thing in the system and suddenly all those moving parts in a machine are actively getting in each other’s way. She crouched down on her haunches next to Blake.

“I can make this work” she muttered to herself as she searched through Blake’s things. Her partner had been working out she noticed, any hints of fat she may have once had was completely replaced with Lithe muscle, her clothes had taken on a more armor-like appearance and she wore a tight hood instead of a bow to hide the kitty ears.

_Step 1_ Yang reached down and pulled back Blake's hood revealing her secret ears, she pulled out a scroll, snapped a picture and sent it out to someone. Someone with a loudmouth. Few people knew about Blake's status as a Faunus and fewer still knew about her former WF connections. While this reveal wouldn't expose Blake's past it would put her under suspicion slowing down any progress she might make in her attempt to capture Yang. Especially since the White Fang was on Yang's tail as well. _Let’s see how she likes it._

Yang reached into Blake’s pockets again and retrieved Blake’s scroll. Ripping off the back portion of the device Yang plucked a small chip from her mask and implanted it into the scroll before rebuilding the device and placing it back on the Faunus’s person. She paused as she returned the scroll as she felt her finger brush against something smooth. Plucking the smooth object from the pocket she found a red dust crystal in her hand, smiling she pocketed the shard and stood up.

_And that’s step 2._ She thought to herself as she walked towards Junior. The giant bartender had a look on his face that resembled a boy heading to get his annual shot. She gave him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry about this Junior” Junior scoffed at that.

“Just get it over with” the anger in her voice did hurt her a bit more than she’d thought it would, he’d help hide her and hadn’t judged her for what she did during the Vytal Festival. As far as Yang was concerned he was her only ‘friend’ from the good old days. She reached up and gently touched his chin.

“Junior” he locked eyes with her and the apprehension was clear on his face, she smiled at him. “I really am sorry for this”

He returned the smile “Eh its apart of the business anyway”

Yang nodded at him and then launched her fist out at his unprotected face. She hit him hard enough to throw him back a couple of feet but not enough to knock him out. Junior tumbled for a bit before bumping into the bar black eye already forming on his grizzled face.

“How does it look?” the black eye already enlarging to a hideous size. It would do for an excuse as to why Yang had been in his bar ‘he’d tried to incapacitate her but she just assaulted him’ was what the story was going to be.

“Ruggedly charming” she replied mischievous grin back on her face. “You got Huntress insurance?”

“Ever since you first stepped into my bar Blonde”

Yang gave junior a mock angered look and gestured him to go on. Junior sighed.

“Blonde _Sir”_

“That’s better, catch you around Junior” she waved to junior as she flung herself out one of his bar’s many windows.

* * *

**Elsewhere**

"And then she just vanished" Norn croaked out face red as an overripe apple. She clearly was flustered by the memory of the whore-house. "We searched everywhere but we couldn't find her"

Ruby had been expecting that Yang had made it a habit of disappearing with no explanation when cornered. For the longest time most people had assumed she was killed by Grimm during her escape, but when talk of a Sun-dragon spilled into the criminal underclass it became apparent that she'd escaped. At first, Ruby had been overjoyed to find out she hadn't killed her sister but that joy turned to horror the further she looked into these sun dragon sightings. Yang wasn't well.

"What did the 2 women look like?" Ruby asked, not wanting to make the young girl too uncomfortable but still desperately needing answers. "What were the colors of their eyes?"

“Uh ummm?” Norn struggled to answer as her mind clearly had tried to erase that memory. “I’m sorry it’s just so confusing I can’t focus”

Ren took a step towards the huntress in training and slowly raised his hand, Norn nervously eyed the hand.

"I can help you focus if you'd permit me," he said in his monotone voice.

"Is it safe?" she asked eyes flicking to Ruby. That questioning look made Ruby feel uncomfortable.

_Why do people always trust me because I’m younger?_ She gave Norn a bright smile rather than berate her for seeking a stranger’s advice. _Hopefully, I won't let this one down as well._

“It’s ok you won’t be hurt” a look of relief spread over the dark-haired girl’s face, she gave a nod to Ren and he placed his hand on her shoulder. Suddenly the color seemed to drain from her and a look of pristine zen came over her face.

"The pale woman had light blue eyes almost white and her partner had the deepest red eyes I've ever seen," Norn said in a monotone voice. "The pale one was thin and gaunt while her partner was ‘full-bodied' and muscular" Norn's brow crinkled slightly "in fact besides the color she looked exactly like Yang Xiao Long"

Ren let go of her shoulder and Norn immediately pulled at her black braid in frustration. “She was right there and I didn’t see her”

“Well now we know where she was at least” Ruby didn’t bother hiding her disappointment, these leads would end up as dead ends and she knew it. Yang was not a person without resources and not one of these criminals would be quick to reveal Yang’s location. I would take them at least a day to get them talking and who knows where Yang would get to in that time.

Ruby sighed at the thought of how fruitless this end up being. Norn stood up face suddenly flustered.

“Wait I have something that may help you in subduing Ms.Xiao Long” Ruby raised a skeptical eyebrow towards the raven-haired huntress to be, she couldn’t allow herself to be hopeful.

“She was seriously injured, I mean vomiting blood injured, right in her ribs” Norn gestured to her own right side “All this was a deep purple bruise, I think she broke a rib or 2”

That was useful. Yang might be able to heal that injury with her immense Aura but it would remain a weak point for at least a month after. And in a fight against Yang ending it quickly would be key. If they wanted to bring her in alive.

Ruby took a deep breath as the memory of blood and bone fragments came back to her. It was hard not to think about the day Ozpin had sent her to track Yang down. Then It had been to try and keep beacon safe, and that blew up in the face of all involved and now… Now Ruby needed to bring her sister home. Yang wasn’t well and in the past few years she’d only degraded further, she was attacking people committing crimes and if the worst rumors were true, killing people.

_I’m so sorry Yang, I need to bring you home._

Ruby thanked Norn and gave her a small bow before turning back towards team JNR. She pointed at Nora and Ren.

“Nora Ren you go talk to this Azraq fellow and the D’Aulony woman, see if you can get them to spill Yang’s location ok?” the pair nodded to her and she turned to Jaune. “We’re gonna find the rest of my team and pool our knowledge.”

Pulling out her scroll Ruby was happy to see a message already waiting for her sent from Weiss.

**W: Ruby I’ve analyzed Yang’s fighting style… We may have a problem. She’s more precise than before and she’s lost none of her passion. We must approach with Caution!**

Well, that didn't bode well. Ruby's fingers flew over the screen of the scroll as she sent a reply

**R: Thanks for the update, Weiss. How is she more precise?**

The reply was slow coming, Weiss would type something out delete it then type again half a dozen times. Her skills for combat analysis were 2nd to none at beacon and Ruby had no doubt that Weiss had made a proper analysis of Yang but she was trying to find the right words for it.

**W: Each hit is structurally aimed either to maximize pain or to incapacitate swiftly.**

Again there was a pause.

**W: judging by the Vacuo Police reports and Sage’s injury… she’s specifically targeting knees in combat once she’d broken her target’s Auras down sufficiently.**

Flashes of the Vytal festival hit Ruby like a train and her past mistakes raked at her mind.

**R: She’s still bitter.**

**W: …yeah**

**W: What do we do?**

Ruby considered this for an instant, Yang had been honing her skills in the intervening years since they last saw her, which suggested she’d been trained by someone in that time period and this recent event with the whore house made the situation clearer. Yang was connected and had been trained by someone also with connections.

**R: Tell Blake about your findings and keep investigating that location, we’ll meet up in half an hour ok?**

**W: Ok**

Ruby began switching through her messages when an alert caused her scroll to buzz. It was a low Aura alert. Faster than most could see Ruby swiped through her applications until she found the team Aura monitoring app. Her eyes widened at what she saw; Blake’s aura was taking a severe beating, the bar representing her aura just kept decreasing in huge chunks.

_Blake found Yang._

Quickly tapping Ruby pinned down the Faunus girl's location and sent a complete message to the whole group. The text contained Blake's coordinates and a clear message from Ruby.

**R: Blake’s in danger Yang is here!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Art again, I might commission more works and come back to these chapters. As always leave a review and spread this around where you can


	14. Memories of Loved ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss and Yang are forced to deal with less than ideal emotional states

The situation couldn't have gotten worse. It really couldn't. Not for Weiss at least. Beacon was under full-scale martial law, Pyrrha had been missing for a few days now and the Grimm were hammering at Beacon’s borders harder than ever. And to top it all off her father had arrived to pick her up.

_And Yang’s gone _That thought alone had been hammering into Weiss' head for the past 24 hours now. After her escape from Beacon custody, Yang had disappeared, vanished without a trace. Atlas personnel had attributed it to a Grimm attack towards the end of their pursuit. To them Yang was dead. 

Weiss didn't buy that. Couldn't buy that. Bloody, injured and on her last legs no Grimm was going to take down Yang Xiao Long without at least some evidence of a fight present. Yang had a habit of making a mess of a situation and Weiss knew that the blonde would never go out with a whimper. Unlike herself, it seemed.

Jacques Schnee had arrived in the fortress that was once Beacon academy a mere 18 hours after Weiss' ‘protective custody' was announced. He flew in on a private ship of course and the Atlas forces had all but bowed to him when he came for her. Weiss watched him as he paced around the now barren dorm room, she struggled to keep her eyes on her father as he ranted to her and off memento moris strewn throughout the dorm. Yang’s empty bunk was like a void in the room and her gauntlets sat on her pillow mocking Weiss with their presence.

“No returned calls whatsoever” his voice was pure Atlesian upper class and he only ever talked down to people, his own daughter included. “and I find out that you’ve been working alongside a violent sociopath this entire time”

“Yang’s not…” Weiss started to say before her father cut her off with a simple glare. The man might not have a utilized aura but he certainly had a presence that would stamp down anyone around him.

“The tabloids will have a field day with this” he continued as if Weiss hadn’t interrupted. Dust sometimes Weiss wondered if she had. “My daughter either a damned accomplice to this maniac or too stupid to spot her in time”

Weiss felt the pull to defend Yang once again but like most things regarding her father she didn't have the will to counter him. He snapped his fingers and Weiss knew it was time for them to leave and a part of her was glad to. She hated Atlas, it was cold and she was under her father's near-constant supervision while there but lately, Beacon had been corrupted as well. The school was a military barracks, the students were regularly sent out to try and lessen the Grimm threat and… and…

_And everything reminds me of Yang and how she’s… gone. _Dust she couldn't even entertain the possibility in her own head. She followed after her father as they headed towards the Beacon docks. It was crowded with both Atlas and Vale military forces and all were marching in step with one another. It was all rather drab barring the few huntsmen and huntresses amongst the soldiers who were brightly dressed.

The kinship Weiss once felt for those huntresses had died in the last few days. Hearing them mock her behind her back and mock Yang had hurt and even after Yang's… disappearance, they'd only gotten worse. To them, she and Team RWBY were partly responsible for this current situation. She turned away from the group of huntsmen, who were giving her looks of either mockery or accusation. She knew she wouldn’t miss that when she’d left beacon. Everywhere her gaze went she was met with either pity, mockery or accusation so eventually she just let her eyes slowly scan the docks not focusing on any one thing. Then she saw her, walking in slow dragging footsteps across the docks to one of the waiting military transports, face devoid of care or passion.

_Ruby_

She couldn’t tell what force pulled her away from her father and towards her partner. Jacques Schnee even gripped her shoulder to hold her back but Weiss merely twisted out of his grasp, compelled by some unstoppable force to get to her leader. Ruby’s head turned as she saw Weiss approach and only the faintest glimmer of recognition appeared on her face. Weiss enclosed the red girl in an embrace and held her tightly.

Ruby didn’t move, she didn’t even seem to register that Weiss had hugged her, she just stared off into empty space.

“Weiss…” her voice came out hollow as if disconnected from reality, Weiss held her tighter. This was the first time the Atlesian had seen Ruby since she ran off after Yang and she was worried about what her leader must have seen in that pursuit.

“Yeah Ruby it’s me” she struggled in her mind to find something to say to ease Ruby’s worries. _I can barely keep myself together how am I supposed to encourage her?_ So she settled on telling Ruby what she thought Yang would say. “I was so worried about you, I’m just glad you’re safe.”

The reaction was instant Ruby finally took hold of her partner and Weiss could feel the younger girl shake as she cried. She just stood there trembling for an instant before speaking through her tears.

“I killed her Weiss” Ruby sobbed into Weiss’ shoulder. Weiss didn’t need to ask who Ruby was talking about and a part inside her began to die as Ruby spoke. “I shot her and the Grimm took advantage” Ruby’s finger’s dug into the back of Weiss’ dress. “She was so upset because of me and they killed her because of me!”

And with that Ruby broke down in Weiss’s arms, her sobbing became wails and she collapsed to her knees gripping the Heiress for support. Weiss knelt to keep a hold on her emotionally damaged leader, the more Ruby broke down the tighter Weiss held her.

“I-I-I Ki-Killed Mu-my s-sister” Ruby confessed before burying her face into Weiss’s shoulder and shrieking. Weiss could feel the emotions building up inside herself as well as she rocked her partner back and forth. Weiss felt like breaking down along with her but then a voice whispered into her ear.

_Promise me you’ll look after Ruby_

Weiss felt like turning into a sobbing blubbering mess right there, but she’d promised Yang she’d be there for Ruby and Weiss was a woman of her word dammit. So she held back her tears and whispered soothing words to her younger partner.

“It’s ok Ruby, It’ll be alright” it was a lie but it was the lie Ruby needed to hear right now. For a second Ruby’s crying lessened and she just gripped Weiss as they both sat on the ground in silence.

Until a shadow eclipsed them both. Weiss looked up to see the visage of her father glaring down on her and Ruby. In an instant that look on his face drained Weiss of the resolve Yang’s promise had granted her.

“You’re making a scene Weiss” Jacques Schnee nodded towards a group of huntresses who were staring and whispering amongst themselves. A few were even giggling. “This type of charity is good for press-ops but leave the lunatic! We have a flight to catch”

Reaching down Weiss’s father took hold of Weiss and began pulling her up, Weiss jerked away from his pull.

"No," she said mustering what little defiance she could as a shield against her father.

“What?”

“I can’t leave her, she needs my help”

"What she needs is a padded cell, now do as I say" and with that, he pulled Weiss forcefully upwards. Before Weiss could be dragged further Ruby's hand shot out and gripped her partner's wrist, silver tear-stained eyes locked with Jacque Schnee's.

"W-Weiss S-stays," she said still stuttering with tears but still remaining strong. It happened in a flash and Weiss could almost see it coming, the back of Jacque Schnee’s hand struck the redhead across the face knocking her back. As Ruby fell to the ground the elder Schnee spat a curse at her.

“Trash”

Weiss could never bring herself to confront her father, for any reason whatsoever, it was utterly ridiculous really. There she was a well-trained huntress with a powerful familial semblance against an aging industrialist who'd never worked a day in his life and yet she feared him like all the other Schnees did. That fear was built up by a cycle of abuse, neglect, and isolation, back in Atlas Weiss couldn't find the strength to defend herself from her father nor could she find the strength to defend her siblings from him. Or her mother. So great and all-encompassing was his control that what happened next truly shocked the Heiress.

A Blue Glyph appeared above Weiss’s head, spinning faster as her rage began to build, Weiss could smell iron in her nose and taste the Ozone of Aura in the air as the glyph worked almost subconsciously. Her father gazed up in time to see a Giant gauntleted fist back-hand him 30 feet across the docks. Jacque Schnee hit the ground hard and his perfectly pristine suit became quickly tarnished by dirt and mud as he slid from concrete to grass. Weiss stalked towards where her father had landed, completely oblivious to all watching.

"Don't you ever touch her!" she screamed at her father unsure where her confidence had come from Maybe it was from her care for her leader and partner, maybe she'd grown a backbone in the time she spent at Beacon. Maybe it came from the promise she'd made to Yang to keep Ruby safe. Her father struggled to his feet on shaking legs, glaring at his daughter the whole time, this insolence only fueled Weiss' rage. "You don't get to call HER trash!"

“Weiss you’re causing a scene.” He whisperer shouted to her through clenched teeth, trying to regain control, Weiss looked around her and saw that her actions had indeed drawn a crowd, military personnel and huntsmen alike were staring at the 3 figures.

"Now cease this nonsense and return to the ship" he snapped his fingers as he spoke and for an instant, his control fought for a foothold in Weiss' mind.

"She's not a dog" a weak voice spoke up, Weiss' eyes traveled to the source of the voice and saw Ruby struggling to stand back up, eyes still stained with tears as she glared at Jacques. "And I said she's not going anywhere"

And like that the spell was broken, Jacque snapped his fingers again and Weiss heard herself say what she’d always wished she’d said when she was a small girl in Atlas. “If you snap those fingers one more time I’ll break them”

"Did you just threaten me!" he said in an incredulous voice with only the barest hint of fear. "You've already made a public embarrassment of the family and you've assaulted your own father!" his mustache bristled as he struggled to keep from screaming at her in front of the crowds, the man had to keep up his public image in spite of the dirt. "If you don't apologize right now and get on that ship I will cut you off, you will be disowned from the Schnee name. You’ll end up a poor nameless nobody”

“nobody, Nobody? NOBODY!" as Weiss pointed her finger towards her father the Gauntleted hand mirrored her action, she could feel the pent-up anger flowing back to her. But it was more than that she was angry with the whole damn situation and she was sick of everything from Atlas, her father included. “It’s MY name Father, you’re the nobody who married into it”

_This is very inappropriate, we can't__ survive without his funds. All we’d have is the name. _The thoughts raced through Weiss’ head as she glared down at her father, the urge to run hide and be obedient niggled in the back of her mind but she beat them down. _I regret a lotta thing’s I did this past week but this… this I won’t regret._

Jacque Schnee opened his mouth to say something back to Weiss, but Weiss instead chose to show him her back and walk away, she didn’t have time for lesser men anymore, she had a promise to keep to a departed friend. Again she held Ruby in an embrace.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you” she whispered in the younger girl’s ear. “Nothing will ever harm you. I’m close by, I’ll stay here”

Hell or high water Weiss would keep the last promise she’d made to Yang, she’d keep Ruby safe.

* * *

**Present**

**R: Blake is in danger Yang is here!**

For a full minute Weiss could do nothing except stare at the message on her scroll, the only thing she could move were her eyes as they scanned over the GPS coordinates. She wanted to move but couldn’t.

_Move dammit, this is an improper response._ Her inner voice struggled to gain control over her body, to get her moving even a little bit. _Your teammate is in danger and Yang’s nearby_

"What the hell" came a voice that seemed far off from Weiss all she could hear is a ringing in her ears and all she could feel is a great pulling tension in her chest. "When'd it get so cold”

Weiss’ face felt like it was burning with heat. She needed to focus, to get the job done, to bring Yang home. She hammered herself in the head trying to straighten her thoughts but the miasma of the situation held strong.

“What the heck’s going on!?”

“What the hell is that?!”

“SCHNEE!” the shouting of her name snapped her out of her turmoil and she saw that she’d made an accidental summons and a chimera at that. It was a hideous amalgamation of a Boarbatusk and an alpha Beowulf and it was stalking around her on half hoofs and half claws. She looked towards the one who shouted being sure to not give away an ounce of her inner turmoil, it was Flynt Coal who'd spoken. He simply glared at her “What are you doing?”

Weiss flicked her hand and her creation dissipated, she gave Coal a haughty smirk, better than showing weakness to him or anyone else from Atlas for that matter.

"Just practicing my summoning" she answered her voice chilly. And without another word, she turned on her heel and exited the warehouse. He was shrieking at her back, questions about ‘where she was going and ‘what the heck that was' pointless questions that needed answering some other time.

Stepping out into the sunlight Weiss looked north towards the specified location and started walking.

* * *

**Past**

**Crack!**

The creature’s neck broke beneath Yang’s grip, it was a small little woodland creature maybe a bunny or something like that, it didn’t matter what it was, all that mattered was the fact that it was small and quick. That requirement was an element of the training, of course, everything she'd done in the last month had been in service of Raven's training regimen. In the last month, after her shoulder had fully healed, Raven had put her through one of the strangest training of her life, she'd spar without Aura, focus on using her aura to muffle her footsteps and strangest of all she'd been told to try and assassinate Raven herself. The hunting was just another strange task within her strange list of training.

She threw the bunny/rat/whatever-rodent carcass into the satchel at her hip and tried again to focus her aura. That's what the point of this training was, to master focusing her Aura to her senses. It took her a while to even get her aura solely to her eyes, ears, and nose and when she'd first succeeded Yang had thrown up from sensory overload. Now though, now she was using it without even really trying. The scent of the prey hit her nose first, she looked towards where the scent had come from, then listened for the noise of its tiny heartbeat and finally her eyes could pick out the creature peering out from a far off bush.

_Found you!_

**Crack!**

* * *

Yang threw down the satchel filled with what would be the night’s dinner in front of Raven, who was busy sharpening one of a dozen Dust blades. Her mother looked down at the bulging package then back up at Yang, eyes giving away nothing.

“How many?” she asked without ceremony or inflection. Yang was used to this, only the very impressive feats would stir Raven even slightly.

"30 none bigger than a breadbox" Raven's mouth twitched only slightly upwards, Raven's trademark non-smirk smile.

"Good Yang," she said returning to sharpening her blade. Yang couldn't help but beam at the praise her mother had just given her. Every time Yang took a large step forward in her Aura training Raven would give her a simple ‘good job' Yang always felt great hearing her mother say that.

Raven's praise was never pandering or purposely withheld, either Yang reached the point of the training or she didn't, there was no middle ground. Raven only praised Yang stealth skills when she'd successfully stolen food in the middle of the night. Her non-aura sparring was only noteworthy when she accidentally dislocated her shoulder and still slammed an ax-kick into her mother's collar-bone. She was only counted as a successful assassin when she cut Raven in the face with a broken chopstick in the middle of dinner.

With each trial, she worked through her anger towards her mother and more and more she found herself striving to meet Raven's approval. And with each success came another answer.

“So Daughter mine, what’s today’s question?” Raven plucked a hare from the satchel and set to work preparing it with blind efficiency. Raven’s blade moved quickly and almost mechanically tearing apart the creature and preparing it for consumption later that night. Yang was quiet for a second as she began skinning alongside her mother. “Do you need to phone a friend?” Yang gave a low snort, Raven’s jokes were exceedingly rare and were usually relegated to biting sarcasm.

"I wouldn't have anyone to call even if I could" Yang chuckled trying to bury the pain deeper down inside herself, where it could slowly fester into a rage. Raven gave Yang a look, it wasn't a pitying or judgmental look, Yang honestly couldn’t read her mother when it came down to it. “When was the last time you saw dad?”

“Last time I visited Summer, so right before I invaded your dream” Yang froze in the middle of gutting some sorta weasel beast. Had Dad lied to her, had he been in contact with Raven for years? Raven seemed to pick up on Yang's confusion and dismissed it with a wave of the hand and a mocking smirk. "So much like your father. I saw him, Yang. He didn't see me"

Now that made more sense to Yang, Raven was the type of person to spy on her ‘loved ones’ instead of interacting with them like a healthy person.

_Will I end up doing that? _She thought of her father Taiyang alone in his cabin worrying about his daughter's arrest, constantly worried whether or not she was still alive. Then almost unbidden she thought of Weiss standing in a mansion in Atlas being watched by Yang hiding among the shrubbery like some perverse fairytale. Yang shook her head desperately trying to banish the image of Weiss from her head. _No one else knew about the clearing of Single fall. She burned me!_

But no matter how much Yang repeated those words in her head she couldn’t make herself hate the Heiress. Sighing she grabbed the pelt of the rabbit in her hands and ripped it clear off the flesh in a single swift motion.

“Do you ever get the urge to talk with him?” that question gave Raven pause and she had a look on her face that suggested she was mulling over whether or not to answer. Sticking her flaying knife into the table between them Raven turned away from her daughter and looked towards what seemed to be a random horizon.

“Every time I see him” there was longing in her words and regret. “But I hurt him worse than anyone. I doubt that conversation would go anywhere” her eyes shifted back to Yang locking to her. “That way Daughter”

Lifting her hand Raven pointed to some other far-off horizon. Yang gave her mother a confused look.

“That way what?” she asked not bothering to hide the confusion in her voice. Raven smirked at her and pointed her finger back towards where she’d been gazing a minute ago.

“That way leads to patch” her finger returned to its original point “and that way is Beacon, If you’re going to space out over a lost love Daughter mine then do it properly”

Yang could feel her face turn bright red and she turned away from her mother’s penetrating gaze. Raven had read her like a book and guessed what she’d be thinking, it left Yang feeling uncomfortable.

“She sold you out Yang” Raven said in a reproving tone. Yang flinched from that, her mother was right but that didn’t change the situation, despite that betrayal some part of Yang still loved her. Yang wanted to gut that part like the rabbit’s she’d captured.

"I know mom!" she answered more aggressively than she'd originally intended, Raven seemed only slightly bemused by the Yang's aggressive response. That lack of response only made Yang more annoyed than before and she could feel herself starting to twitch in angry spasms all over again. She clenched and unclenched her fists in an effort to stymie her anger. Raven's eyes caught it all.

"My training is no longer distracting enough is it?" she asked as her gaze traveled up and down Yang. Yang couldn't help but blink she'd be under the impression that all these tasks were just training her to survive and hadn't been for the purpose of distracting her from the Vytal incident. Raven, as if sensing her daughter's thoughts gave her a small smile. "There was a purpose in my training daughter mine don't doubt that. But I also needed to keep your mind off of what happened to you so you can process it more slowly" she gestured to Yang's clenching and unclenching fist. "But it appears my methods are only slowing down the breakdown"

Raven stood up and began pacing in front of Yang quietly muttering to herself. Yang never liked being talked about especially when she was in the room.

“Mom” she shouted at her mother, Raven turned towards her daughter one eyebrow raised, Yang only called her that when she had something she really needed to say. Yang could feel herself breaking down inside her own head. Her anger and love for her team were colliding together and threatening to boil over inside her skull. Looking up at her mother with pleading eyes. “What do I do mom?”

She'd put herself into Raven's hands and some part of her knew she was foolish to give Raven this much control over her. That part died when Raven reached out a hand and set it on Yang's head. The hand had a comforting weight to it and an indescribable strength as well, Yang felt like Raven could crush her skull if she wanted to but knew she wouldn't. Yang tentatively looked up at her mother.

"You need new weapons, Yang," she said with an evil grin that sent a shiver up Yang's spine. A shiver of fear and excitement. "Time for a hunt"

* * *

**Present**

_Come on Yang think just a little Chaos before my ride shows up, what can I do to get them tripping over each other. _The question had been niggling at her mind as she flew over the roofs of Vacuo creating as much distance between her and Junior’s bar as possible. _I’d already sent the file out but that’ll take at least__ 2 hours to take effect._

Suddenly Yang felt a buzzing against her leg and landed on one of the many Vacuo roofs, another buzz. It was her scroll. Opening the scroll she saw that the chip she’d planted on Blake’s phone was bearing fruit, she was in a group chat with the others.

**R: Blake’s in danger Yang is here! **

Followed by a GPS image of Junior’s bar, a string of confirmation texts were sent in reply from team SS_N, and JN_R. Yang couldn’t help but giggle at the hilariousness of it all, their communication would be their downfall.

_Better make the most of this_ she thought as her fingers flew over the scroll’s surface.

**B: Barely conscious seh headd norht.**

**R: Hold on Blake we’re coming.**

“That’ll do” Yang muttered to herself as she turned away from and continued her southward sprint. “It’ll keep them off my back for a bit, maybe if I can blitz some Atlas goons that’ll spread conflicting reports and that’ll make more chaos”

Somersaulting over a large ledge Yang’s mind wandered from the job at hand to places best left alone.

_The mask is hungry, maybe I’ll just burn down a building or release a whole bunch of White fang nerds. _She brushed those ideas away not because they were what others would deem as morally wrong but because they were impractical. _I’d take priority over a random fire and the Fang doesn’t exactly like me. Blitzing ATLAS is the best plan I’ve come up with yet._

Yang’s heart beat harder in her chest as she thought of hammering into the Atlesians, ripping into them and punishing them for all they’ve done to her and still want to do to her. She looked at the red dust crystal in her hands and licked her lips.

_It’s been a while since I unleashed the dragon._ Yang stopped in her sprint as she saw the remains of the warehouse ahead of her, there was an atlas flyer parked atop the building.

_Oh, that's just… _the thought died in her head as she saw something flashing in the sky, it was light blue and as Yang squinted to get a better look her heart stopped. A small woman jumped from the ground to the flashing light and back to another one till she was atop the warehouse. _Perfect._

And she was _perfect_ even from this distance Yang could see it, not a spec of blemish had been added to the smaller woman's skin since Yang had last seen her, she'd only grown an inch or two in the intervening years and her hair still cascaded from her slightly off the ponytail. She no longer wore her shoulder and arm garments, instead being satisfied with wearing only her dress and combat skirt. The bareness showed off her arms of pure corded muscles as well as her pristine collar bones and her lithe pale neck. Weiss Schnee looked better than ever and she was looking right at Yang.

They just stood there frozen for what felt like hours neither making a move until Yang nervously waved her hand. 

“Hey” her voice came out in a croak that made it sounds almost as villainous as she looked. “Snow angel”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by @nerdgasnrz  
Please leave a review, sorry about the cliff hanger


	15. Fire and ICE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang unlocks a new ability and Weiss reconnects with Yang

Raven’s fist collided with Yang’s stomach doubling her over in pain. Yang felt like she was going to burst apart from that hit alone, that pressure dissipated when she vomited. She gripped the red dust crystal in her hand and could feel it pulsing as she held it in place. Yang spat into the vomit pile partially to get the taste out of her mouth but mostly out of frustration, they’d been practicing this for a week now and she’d gotten nowhere in that time. She needed to get this training done before this great ‘hunt’ Raven had spoken of.

_The hunt that will help me forget everything that happened_ she thought as she struggled to her feet. _Or maybe Raven just think’s she can just beat the bad memories out of me._

“Tell me what your semblance is?” a voice shouted at her, she slowly raised her fists in a defensive position expecting her mother to strike at her again.

"A muscle" Yang blubbered out as she looked around for her mother. She couldn't see her, she'd vanished off somewhere. Suddenly a yellow portal appeared to Yang's left and Raven engulfed in lightning shot out and slammed Yang in the chin with a lightning coated elbow. In that instant of impact, Yang tried to focus on both the dust crystal in her hand and her semblance but all she got was the usual strength boost. The elbow spun Yang around and when she looked she saw that her mother had disappeared yet again.

“What is Dust?” Raven again asked Yang for what had to be the 40th time that day alone. Yang was getting damn tired of this.

“Natures wrath that I’m about to shove up your ass” she shouted to the sky when a Black portal appeared next to Yang and she felt gravity pull her into it and when she emerged out the other side her neck landed right into her mother’s grasp. She was wearing the Grimm mask again but Yang could tell she was being glared at from beneath the mask.

"There's no need to be rude Daughter mine" Yang jabbed Raven in her wrist and felt the familiar barrier of Raven's monstrous aura. Eventually, Raven simply sighed and dropped Yang to the floor. Now free from her mother's grip Yang stalked away.

“I’m getting nowhere!” she roared in frustration. “All that I’m getting is an ass-kicking from you” she threw the dust shard down on the ground to accentuate the point.

_How did Blake make it seem so easy?_

“Yang.” Her mother’s voice was calm and surprisingly soothing when she spoke. “Dust-semblance integration is often difficult for people of certain semblances, some semblances beg for the integration. While others require a deeper devotion to discover.” Raven reached down and retrieved the Dust crystal, she looked at it for a second before tossing it to her daughter. Yang caught it instantly on instinct.

"Like that" Raven gestured to Yang's closed fist that had caught the dust shard. "Once you've figured it out it will be as instinctual as that catch. Now, are you ready to go again?"

Yang looked down at the red crystal in the palm of her hand, she knew that no wasn't an option with her mother and as ‘kind’, as she was now, strength was all that mattered. 

_THEY never made it look too difficult_ she thought letting the jealousy and resentment tug at her. _That’s just how their semblances worked meanwhile mine…_

A smile spread across Yang’s face as she turned towards her mother. She Laughed, she couldn’t help it, the answer was right in front of her.

“Mom, hit me with Yureru” Raven seemed to freeze at that, showing hesitation for only an instant before mechanically drawing out the enormous red sword. _She hesitates for only an instant but an instant is a long time for Raven._ Yang’s smile grew wider as she realized she’d successfully spotted a weakness in her mother unintentionally. _Rule number 2 wasn’t it mom?_

Lifting the Dust Crystal to her mouth she bit down on it and held the pulsing shard between her teeth as she bid her mother to hit her with the giant sword. The attack came quickly and without restraint, the red sword seemed to swipe low then high in an instant and Yang had to struggle to keep her feet beneath her but still Raven got a good slash across Yang’s chest and she was knocked back by the force of the blow.

Again she only felt the usual power of her semblance activate but deep down there was a tiny hint of something else. Or maybe she was just fooling herself and being overly optimistic. She felt herself instinctually biting down on the Crystal in her mouth as she rolled away from the strike, as she sprung back up to her feet she saw that Raven had vanished again. 

Yang waited until she heard the hum of Raven's portal and looked up to see Raven shooting towards her from above her head. Flipping away from her oncoming mother Yang managed to create enough distance to see Raven bounce from the ground and speed towards her thrusting her blade right at Yang's chest.

The dust blade broke through Yang's Aura and cut her across her collarbone. The pain was excruciating and Yang let out a howl of agony as she felt the blade cut her, but then she felt it, subtle at first then stronger. The same feeling she felt when she fought the Atlas specialist, the spreading of the Red, her new aura. And in an instant Yang could feel the heat building up around her and she felt that energy coursing through her, she bit down further on the dust crystal and she felt a wild ravenous urge pull inside her.

She had no true aura, she was in a dangerous fight and nature's wrath was pulsing through her. She threw her head back and yelled to the sky in pure joy. For a second she forgot about everything at Beacon and she was alive again.

“YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!” Yang roared through the dust crystal between her teeth, she looked at her arms and could see the ghost flame of her hair had spread to her arms and her fists. Yang giggled with giddy laughter as she saw the flame. “COME ON MOM HIT ME AGAIN”

Raven did not hesitate to oblige, she portalled in again and struck Yang on the chin with the pommel of her blade. Yang Rolled with the hit and turned the roll into a cart-wheel before springing towards her mother. As she ran towards Raven she felt the heat grow more intense and as she struck, she saw flames pouring from her fists. She couldn’t land a hit on Raven who seemed to dodge the strikes without effort but for once Yang wasn’t wracked with frustration over not hitting her mother.

She couldn’t be frustrated she was on fire. No that’s wrong, she wasn’t on fire, she WAS fire. She slammed her fist into the dirt, barely missing Raven and when Yang pulled her fist away she saw that she’d charred the soil around her knuckles.

“Good” Yang looked up and saw her mother had sheathed Yureru, removed the Grimm mask and was standing a fair distance from Yang, a look of pride on her face. That look made Yang grin like an idiot. “You’ve figured it out, reigniting this flame might take more training to fully master but you’ve taken the first step and done well.”

Yang let the Dust crystal fall from her mouth, as it fell the flames died down and she was swiftly reminded of the pain in her collarbone. She winced as she grabbed her fresh cut and before she could pull her own hand away her mother was right next to her. She hadn't even seen her move. Raven held Yang's shoulder as she examined the cut no pity or concern showed on her face, just cold calculation. She frowned when she pulled the cloth of the shirt away from the cut and Yang winced again.

“This needs to be cleaned and dressed” she paused for an instant but remained next to Yang as if she was struggling with what to say next. “I’ll take care of it” the words came out strangely, Yang wasn’t sure how to explain the strangeness of it, but it was sorta like when she called Raven mom the first time.

Summer flashed through Yang’s memory, her beautiful White cloak billowing in the wind. Smiling down at a young fallen Yang who was crying over a scraped knee. Summer scooped Yang up and held her tight, telling her it’ll be alright. Almost without thinking Yang reached out and took her mother’s hand. Raven’s eyes widened and she looked at Yang searching for any sort of threat, Yang in response gave her a weak smile.

“It’s ok mom, I’m alright!” Raven seemed to relax at those words and the worry hidden deep within her eyes seemed to fade away.

* * *

**Present**

Yang just stood there hand still raised in that awkward wave. And Weiss had no idea what to do. ‘Snow Angel’ she’d called her, this woman, who Weiss barely recognized, wearing a Grimm mask and retreating from the scene of a savage revenge based beating. And all Weiss could do was feel sheepish and blush. Her throat felt as dry as the Vacuo desert.

_Is this a dream?_ Her mind began asking questions attempting to establish the state of reality around her. She pressed her nail into her palm and felt pain begin to well up. _Not a dream, that’s just perfect._

Now that she’d completely scientifically established the dream world from reality, Weiss was faced with a conundrum; Yang was here and it seemed that she was interested in talking not running. She knew that if she didn’t respond Yang might just disappear out of pure awkwardness. So she lifted her chin in as haughty a manner as possible a focused her old-money confidence into her voice as she spoke.

“Y-yang” Dust her voice cracked in the middle of her talking, she felt her cheeks turn red. “You look…”

Weiss' eyes traveled up and down her former teammate and the differences between how Yang used to look and how she currently looked were very apparent. Yang's once wild hair was tamed and straight, her clothes were more practical in design not even bothering to expose ‘the girls' but the greatest difference was her face. The horrific Grimm mask on her head was drawn back but the face beneath it was much more fearsome, she had a scar beneath her left cheek, there were permanent bags underneath her eyes and the eyes themselves were cold focused and nothing but crimson. Honestly, she looked-

“…Like crap” Yang finished for Weiss giving a halfhearted laugh as she spoke. “Yeah… it’s been hard since… then”

“You’ve been working out” Yang’s smile turned into a grin but it never reached her eyes, the muscles in her exposed arms were tensed as if she’d expected Weiss to spring out and attack her. _Every logical bone in my body tells me I should. Heh, how well did that work out for Blake_?

“and you've kept in good form" Weiss thumbed towards the warehouse below them, the one filled with so many Faunus teeth and so many atlas soldiers. "I saw your work down there."

Yang's grin shifted into something more primal, crueler and it honestly scared Weiss. And excited some deep dark part of her. Yang's hungry eyes traveled from the warehouse back to Weiss and though they softened they retained all their hunger.

"Thanks," Yang said spreading her hands out, slowly walking towards the edge of her rooftop. "They were planning on blowing up Shade academy actually" she put her foot on the edge of her roof and flung herself landing right in front of Weiss. It was as she landed with that hungry look and cruel grin that Weiss realized how much larger Yang was compared to her. "But that's not why I hit them that day"

Weiss wasn’t intimidated, honestly she wasn’t, no she was just properly cautious as this enormous titan of a woman stood over her armed to the teeth, discussing how she took down an entire terrorist cell and had in the past hour beat her former partner into the ground. Ok, there's a bit to be intimidated by, but Weiss was a huntress and when hunting Grimm one rule held true above others.

_If you show a beast fear or weakness you will be devoured._

“I know” Weiss responded not flinching from Yang’s nearness nor looking away from her red eyes as she spoke. Yang’s eyebrow raised at that, she leaned down so her eyes would be level with Weiss’. Dust her face was close, Weiss could feel the fiery heat coming off Yang’s face, taste the Ozone of her Aura and smell the sweat coming off her.

“Really?” Yang whispered to Weiss never breaking eye contact, never retreating an inch. “Why’d I do it then?”

_Latent Sadism, a desire to vent frustration at others, mother issues. I’m sure a shrink could speculate for hours on why you did it. _Weiss had heard the many shrinks and pseudo-psychologists at Beacon speculating why Yang did what she did. She’d heard it a thousand and one times and she knew it was junk then and it’d be junk now.

"You need to fight," she said and thank dust her voice didn't crack this time. Yang seemed even more intrigued than before. "But you needed to fight against someone who might've presented you with a challenge, you couldn't just grab the local thugs and beat them. No. you had to prove yourself by picking a fight with a group of the world's most dangerous terrorists"

Weiss couldn't help but wave her hands in exasperation as she spoke, Yang kept a cautious eye on the quickly moving hand. "Honestly Yang! You are determined to put yourself into the most dangerous situation just to prove to other people you're tough enough to get out of it" Weiss stomped her foot on the ground to emphasize her point and saw Yang choke back a laugh at the whole show. That stifled laugh only fanned the flame of Weiss' rant. "Well, Miss Xiao Long am I in the right ballpark?"

"Close enough" Yang laughed at Weiss' performance. "I've missed you, Weiss"

Again Weiss could feel herself blushing and she tried to rebuild her wall of haughty airs, but it was no good. She loved Yang, she had since Beacon and despite everything, she still did now.

_But she needs to come home. To her family. To me._

“Yang…I” she needed to change the subject cut her emotions out of this and gain control of the situation, find a way to somehow capture her former teammate.

"You look beautiful as ever Weiss" Yang said with a genuine tone and with that Weiss' illusion of composure broke, her face became beet red and she had to look away from the tall blonde in a pathetic display of embarrassment. Yang was close to her and Weiss could feel the magnetic pull of her, she looked back into Yang's tired crimson eyes and felt that old pull tugging at her heart.

“you need to come home” Weiss’ voice was quiet when she spoke, barely above a whisper, but still Yang had heard it. A small twitch started to run through the Blonde’s right eye and only for the briefest of instants did anger flash in her face.

“Why?” Yang looked away from Weiss as she spoke, her word barely masking her aggression. “So Ozpin and Ironwood can have their Justice?!”

"Screw them!" Weiss suddenly shouted causing Yang to flinch back from the outburst of the smaller girl. Weiss was so frustrated with this back and forth song and dance. With a roar of frustration, her hand shot out quicker than lightning and grabbed the back of Yang's head. Yang, unsure of what was happening, barely had time to unfurl Ember Celica before Weiss had pulled the larger girl into a passionate kiss.

Yang’s lips were warm like the woman herself and also like her they resisted initially to the kiss but soon gave up their resistance to Weiss’ lips. They were kids the last time they’d even been close to intimate with each other but they’d both grown a lot since that day, they were adults now and they kissed like adults. Yang grabbed the smaller Heiress and lifted her up pressing her small frame against her body, while Weiss ran her hands through the long golden locks and along Yang's neckline feeling her fantastic physique as she did. Dust she was intoxicating, all hot fiery passion and greedy love, Yang wanted her and Weiss could feel it in the embrace, more than that she hungered for her. It was like making out with a dragon. Finally, before the full dizziness could overtake her Weiss broke from the kiss and looked up into Yang's flushed face.

“for me. Come home for me”

Weiss caressed the back of Yang’s neck as she looked into the blonde bruiser’s eyes. Yang rested her hand on Weiss’ cheek, closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath. When she opened her eyes Weiss saw that there were tears brimming in them.

"I can't" Yang sobbed, it was such a strange sight red eyes flowing with tears, Weiss wondered how her own eye's looked at that moment. "I can't go back, Weiss. Not even for you"

Weiss could feel her own tears pouring down her cheeks as Yang spoke.

"Why?" the word came out broken by sobs and anger

“They’ll cage me, Ozpin and Ironwood” while Yang’s was tainted with grim resignation and to Weiss’ surprise, cold intellect. “Nothing to be done about it”

“We’ll protect you!” She was tired of hearing this defeatist attitude from Yang, she hated it at the Vytal festival and still hated it now. “We’ll keep you safe from them and prove your innocence”

Yang let out a quiet laugh before cupping Weiss’ face in her hand. Weiss couldn’t help but lean into that hand, settling her fingertips on Yang’s wrist. _Please don’t make me do this Yang PLEASE!_

"I love you Weiss but that's a fairy tale" her words were chill and still rung with the truth. It was both Weiss and Ruby's pipe dream but they had to try and see it become a reality, the world was dark enough as it is.

“I love you too Yang” suddenly a Black gauntlet sprouted from Weiss’ fingers and enclosed itself around Yang’s wrist and hand. Yang’s eyes widened in shock and as she pulled back from Weiss her enclosed hand fell to the floor of the roof as if it weighed a ton. “I’m sorry Yang”

Yang glared up at Weiss and then her grimace shifted to a grin and she started to laugh. It was frightening sound half laughter half sobs and Weiss felt fear creep into her mind at the sound.

“So am I Weiss”

* * *

**Past**

"What's so special about this hunt?" Yang asked as Raven finished sealing the cut to Yang's collarbone. Setting aside her surgical tools Raven reached down and retrieved her Grimm helmet.

“You’ve been without weapons since I picked you up from Beacon” while that was true Yang couldn’t see its relevance. “It’s about time you forged new ones and …” she patted the helmet “It’s time you made a mask of your own”

“And hunting a Grimm Alpha is going to help with that?”

“No” she lifted the mask and looked into its empty eyes “Devouring it will”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fantastic art by Maivhen:https://maivhen.tumblr.com/ seriously if you got the coin commision them  
And by Tovanori: https://tovanori.tumblr.com/
> 
> Spread this around and leave a review


	16. Revelations

“I need to go back”

Weiss gave Ruby a soft smile that fell into a frown when she saw that it wasn’t delirium on her face but determination. It had been a week since that day on the Beacon docks and Ruby had fallen in and out of a solid mental state throughout. One day Weiss wouldn’t be able to get a single word out of her and other days she couldn’t stop the rambling. But Weiss weathered both with whatever smile she could muster, Ruby needed a rock to rely on.

“Ruby I’m not sure we’d be allowed anywhere near the investigation” Weiss responded hoping that would dissuade her leader from this course of action. “Besides we’re probably going to be sent out to the reinforce the Beacon border again today”

That had been the case in over the past week, Beacon student as well as any transfer students who were willing, had been sent out to help stem the rising number of Grimm hitting the border. The situation had become so dire that classes were being cut back to allow both students and teachers time to help manage the growing number of Grimm. Team RWBY… Team RWB had been sent on a number of these missions already. Weiss would have opposed this had they not had a noticeably positive effect on Ruby.

_When she's fighting Grimm she doesn't have time to think about other things. _Weiss mused._ But THIS is an entirely different beast_

Ruby slammed a piece of paper on the dorm room desk so suddenly that Weiss had to flinch back. The paper was freshly printed with the tell-tale stain of a coffee-cup on its upper right-hand corner, below the stain was the headmaster's seal stamped with a dark almost black green wax. The seal resembled a cog.

“Where did you get this?” Weiss asked not taking her eye off the seal, already knowing the answer.

“Ozpin” ruby answered again with a determination Weiss wished wasn’t there. “I explained the situation and he gave our team a day off of border duty and permission to investigate how we see fit”

_She planned this rather thoroughly_ Weiss let her apprehension finally show on her face, this was a bad idea and she knew it, going back there would only bring back bad memories for Ruby and leave her worse off. _All my efforts over the past week would vanish._

“Are you sure about this Ruby?”

For a second hesitation flashed over Ruby's face and Weiss worried that Ruby might break down again, but with a shake of her head, she regained her composer.

“Yeah, I can’t just sit here, I need to see it”

Weiss let out a tired sigh but again gave her leader a comforting smile. “Alright guess we’re off to the Forest of forever fall then”

* * *

**The clearing of Single Fall**

Weiss was uncomfortable here, Ruby could tell. She’d been uncomfortable at Beacon since that day, she hid it well but here the wall Weiss had erected around her emotions had fallen away. She spent most of the time looking at her own feet and hugged herself under the pretense of warding off the cold despite such weather never bothering her before.

_Maybe I should have let her go to Atlas_. Ruby had thought that almost every day since Weiss’ father had cut Weiss off. _She has no money, no name and because of me, she's alone._

They were alone together in the clearing, most of the Atlas tech had been removed from the clearing over the course of the past week with only the occasional screw and plate remaining. The tree that gave the clearing its name was torn in half with whole chunks of the wood ripped from the fallen tree. Walking up to the tree Ruby laid her hand on the trunk and tried to focus her aura into the tree itself. She felt a pulsing headache and an old question came to mind as she took her hand away from the tree.

“Weiss” the older girl looked up from her shoes towards Ruby and put on that forced smile she wore whenever she was struggling inside.

"Yeah, Ruby?"

“How did you know about this place?” Ruby had been so focused on her own recovery that she hadn’t found time to ask Weiss about this. Weiss’ face turned red and she turned away from her leader.

“Yang took me here once, to spar before her match with Mercury” Weiss was keeping something to herself Ruby could tell, she could also tell that whatever Weiss was hiding was hurting her inside.

_But she won’t say anything about it and I won’t force her. Yet_

As Ruby took a step away from the tree a thought went through her mind. _What If I ran away with Yang. _Images of her and her sister fighting off Atlas forces, slaying Grimm and running off into the woods passed through Ruby’s vision. The large Atlas specialist about to strike Yang and instead of shooting him Ruby knocks his legs out from under him with Crescent Rose. As the giant falls a bruised and bloody Yang smiles her sisterly smile and says.

"I love you Ruby" and then her shoulder explodes in a shower of Blood and bones, and the dream turns into a nightmare. "R-R-ruby"

Yang’s face turns from relief to pain and finally to anger.

“No I didn’t mean to, I didn’t...” Ruby whispers to herself as the bloody broken Yang spits accusations at her, Ruby retreats to the inside of her hood to escape the screaming. Suddenly Yang’s swearing stops and Ruby looks up to see the jaws of an Ursa clamped over her sister’s throat, blood pouring out of its maw staining Yang’s golden hair black.

Ruby lets out a scream and she sees a dead Yang, limp in the jaws of a Grimm still staring anger at her.

“RUBY!” Weiss shouted as she shook her leader, reality crashed back into Ruby and she became aware that she was screaming. Stopping her screaming she looked into her partner’s eyes, this wasn’t the first breakdown she had. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

Ruby swallowed, brushed away the tear she hadn’t realized she shed and nodded to Weiss. She had to see this through, Weiss pulled her in close and buried Ruby’s face in her shoulder, gently rubbing her back as she whispered soothing words to her.

“Okay Ruby, if we’re going to do this” Weiss paused for a second. “Then We’re going to have to do this together”

Normally these attacks came in the middle of the night and every time Ruby woke up shrieking, there was Weiss to calm her down. Always with kind words and a protective hug. Blake would occasionally try and help Ruby but her comfort was colder than Weiss', still, she was lucky to have these friends. _I don’t deserve them._

But that melancholic thought could wait, they had a job to do. Reluctantly breaking from Weiss' embrace they followed the path of destruction through the forest of forever fall. As they walked deeper and deeper in Ruby's breathing became more and more ragged and with every step, she felt a pressure building up in her chest Weiss couldn’t help but notice and she took Ruby’s hand giving it a little squeeze.

“We don’t want to attract the Gimm do we?” she spoke with forced banter in her voice, but ruby appreciated the sentiment and tried to focus her attention on her partner rather than her own mistakes

"No, we don't. So what will you do now that you're cut off?" Weiss winced at that. Ruby regretted bringing the subject up almost immediately but it would be better if both of them focused on this lesser pain. "I mean you're smart and talented enough to survive without his ‘charity'"

She made sure to spit the word charity like a curse, Ruby only saw him for a few seconds but in that Time Jacque Schnee appeared like a man with whom charity was just a code word for purchasing.

"Well Winter joined the military and that seems to keep her relatively comfortable" she paused fingers holding her chin. "I suppose being a huntress will keep me comfortable enough. Heh, I wanted to become a huntress to bring honor back to the Schnee name now I have to be one because I wouldn’t let it be sullied. Worst case scenario I could always ask Winter for help.”

"Well you'll always have my help if you need it" it was a weak gift for Ruby to give but she felt so selfish relying on Weiss this past week. "We don't have much down in Patch but our home is nice and comfortable and you’d get to see Zwei every day and the winters are lovely white. We could hunt Grimm and build snowmen”

“I’d like that Ruby”

With more joyful thoughts on their mind, they managed to pass through the forest without incident and came upon the secondary clearing. It was exactly how Ruby left it right down to the giant Atlesian specialist stalking around the craters. He looked the same since last Ruby saw him except for a pristine white neck brace holding up his head that was the only undented piece of equipment on him. The giant glanced their way, having to turn his whole body to do so, as they appeared and a nasty smile spread across his slab of a face that was half-concealed behind the Atlesian mask. A large flail was being juggled in his hands as he grinned at them.

“Well if it ain’t the girl that saved my life” when he spoke his falsetto voice shocked both Ruby and Weiss, it was so different from his appearance that neither of them could find something to say. Grinning even wider at their apparent shock his voice piped up again “It’s a pity she slipped through your fingers in the meantime. Truly an amazing feat when you’re being pursued by someone with super speed”

Weiss stepped between Ruby and the Specialist in an effort to shield her from his berating taunts. _Appreciated but not necessary. _Ruby reached out and took Weiss’ arm and stepped ahead of her partner, she didn’t need her protection, not here. So she did what Summer would have done and smiled kindly at a man she hated.

“Sorry I was just in shock over missing my shot” the giant’s smile faltered at that but only slightly, he took a step back and gestured to a brown stain on the dirt surrounded by protective force fields. Ruby felt an attack coming on as she looked down at the dried blood stain but with a bite of her inner cheek she held it at bay.

“You call that a miss?” he laughed and started juggling his morning star in the air. “What, were you aiming for her head?”

“No” she felt her eyes pulse as she looked the giant right in his visor presumably where his eyes should be. “I was aiming for yours”

The specialist slipped in his juggling and his flail clattered to the ground, the grin died on his face and there was shocked silence in the clearing, dust even Weiss looked stunned by what she heard. Ruby just kept up her warm smile and gingerly walked past the person who’d beat her sister to a bloody pulp. _Mom was always polite but she wasn’t afraid to scare the living crap out of some who threatened her family_.

Looking down at the ground she saw the Atlesian markers signifying blood drops Yang left behind and again she was forced to focus on keeping the attacks at bay. _Weiss said she wasn't dead, remember that. She's not dead. Oh, dust that's so much blood._

"What did you say?" Came the highest growl she'd ever heard. She turned toward the Goliath who'd retrieved his fallen flail and was gripping it in a white-knuckled fist. Ruby glared back at him grateful to finally have someone to blame other than herself. "Speak up! I'm sure you'll do your traitor sister proud"

“You weren’t holding back in that fight” she spoke in a cold voice devoid of her usual upbeat naiveté. “You knew she didn’t have an Aura and yet you took every step you could to HURT HER! TO KILL HER!” Ruby threw back her red cloak and grabbed Crescent Rose unfurling it in one furious motion. “YOU WERE GOING TO KILL MY SISTER!”

Ruby tore trenches into the dirt as she spun her scythe overhead, she was ready for a fight, asking for it, wanting desperately to bury her guilt somewhere deep down and lash out at someone else who was at fault. The grin on the Atlas specialist threw her off and before he even opened his mouth she knew what he was about to say.

His falsetto voice seemed to silence the birds overhead and the sounds of nature throughout the forest of forever fall when he spoke. “Well you beat me to it”

The pulsing behind Ruby's eyes became unbearable and she could feel tears streaming down her face but something else was coming from her eyes some sort of fire and she began stalking towards the titan one idea in mind.

_Kill it… Kill IT he’s right… KILL IT…_ The thought repeated itself in her head over and over again as she moved closer to him but before she could spring forward to act on her Grimm thoughts Weiss stepped in front of her Mrytenaster raised towards the Atlesian.

"Get OUT" she spoke through clenched teeth and even though Ruby couldn't see her face she could hear the tears in Weiss' eyes. The Giant looked from Weiss to Ruby and back again before grunting and turning away from them both, apparently uninterested in a completely one-sided beatdown.

As soon as he’d left the clearing Ruby felt the fire in her eyes dissipate to nothing and she was overcome with exhaustion. Collapsing to her knees she felt the tears roll down her cheeks again. But she didn’t even have the energy left in her to sob. _Why am I acting so pathetic here?_

"I killed her Weiss," Ruby thought she was ready to come back here and see the evidence of what she did and what? Move on? Accept what she did? Push herself over the edge and put a bullet in her brain? She worried that the latter was the most likely reason she came here, but she didn’t even have the energy to go through with even that. She looked up at Weiss expecting pity or comfort or finally the hate she’d been worried she’d eventually drive into Weiss with her constant attacks.

Weiss looked back at her eyes red from her own sobs and she grabbed Ruby’s shoulder and glared right in her silver eyes. The glare wasn’t one of hatred it was one of frustration

“No you didn’t you dolt” she spoke with angry confidence. “Look”

She lifted her hand palm up in front of Ruby within her palm was white blue glyph and slowly a tiny white blue Knight emerged from it. The knight stared at her from the Glyph.

"Everything I slay I can summon if the kill was important to me" she explained to her leader as she used to when explaining their lessons. She paused for a second and when she spoke next her voice was more ragged and broken. "I told them where Yang's hideout was. So if you killed her…" Weiss's voice cracked and she took a shuddering breath before she continued "So if you killed her then so did I and since she was Important to me, I should be able to summon her"

The Blue white Glyph spun and spun between them before finally failing and dissipating. Weiss ground her teeth so hard Ruby could hear it and summoned the Glyph again and again it failed. Weiss let out an exhausted breath and looked at her hand in frustration. Ruby’s hand closed itself over her partner’s palm, Weiss looked up to see Ruby looking back into her, her face a mask of dark determination.

“You’re not lying to me are you Weiss” she didn’t ask it like a question, It was a statement. She knew her partner wouldn’t do something like that to her, Weiss shook her head in response before wiping her eyes with the back of her free hand. “Good… good. Then we need to find her”

Weiss looked shocked for an instant before she got Ruby’s meaning.

“We need to find her and bring her home” her voice was again filled with confidence, she had a goal in mind, some-way she might atone. “and keep Atlas off of her”

“She won’t be happy to see either of us” Weiss responded ever the realist.

Overhead a crow cawed as if to accentuate Weiss’ point.

"I know," Ruby said

* * *

_Well, this is just a shit show, isn't it?_ Emerald thought to herself for what had to be the 50th time that day and the millionth time that week. _I mean yeah we did intend this to be a shit show but a scarier shit show not this drab apathy_.

As Emerald walked through the docks of Beacon Academy, being certain to stick to the shadows she couldn't help but note that Panic wasn't the emotion plastered on everyone's face, Nope the only thing found there was resignation. And the later wasn't nearly as appetizing to the Grimm as the former. It was supposed to be panic in the streets, one big explosive event that triggered everyone in Beacon but her initiative had ruined that plan. _I alter the plan a single frame and suddenly it all falls apart_

She could remember the feeling of heat radiating off of Cinder when she told her what she’d done. She’d seen Cinder angry before but never had she seen her lose her composer the way she did then. Not until it was announced that Beacon was barred from the Vytal festival tournament entirely. Emerald could feel herself sweat from the memory alone.

_And now because of that, I'm stuck on bitch work while Mercury gets to sit on his ass doing nothing_. She'd been grumbling to herself for hours now and the wallowing was getting particularly pathetic when she spotted bright Orange hair in the crowd. As Nora Valkyrie turned towards Emerald's direction she focused her semblance and masked herself from the thunder-girl's view. It wasn't required that she be unseen like Mercury but it'd be better if fewer people asked her questions. _Don’t want to blow this operation I’ve already completely ruined._

Cinder had sent her on reconnaissance to give her something, anything that could be exploited to set the emotional powder keg that was Beacon off, bring the Grimm in and give Cinder the opportunity she needed to fully ascend.

_And hopefully, she'll forgive me when she does._ Emerald couldn’t help but scoff at that idea, it was foolishly hopeful and though she loved Cinder she didn’t think the feeling was mutual. She waved THAT thought away and focused on her work. So far she’d only seen the little android Girl occasionally, usually going in and out of transport ships. She was an access point that Cinder was looking to exploit but like Torchwick the ‘Incident’ had made both harder, the robot girl was rarely without at least 3 supervisors and Torchwick’s cell had been put on total lockdown.

_And who was responsible for that little mess up? Oh right ME. _Dust if only Mercury had been the one with illusion powers and not her, she’d gladly take a broken leg over this mess.

So deep in thought was Emerald that she barged right into someone knocking them down. Instinctually she threw up an illusion making her look and sound like someone she was sure was out on border duty, in this case, Coco Adel.

“Hey watch where you’re going” she shouted too annoyed to affect a polite demeanor. She froze when she saw Pyrrha Nikos pick herself up from off the ground. Pyrrha Nikos the most likely candidate for Maidenhood, Pyrrha Nikos the Invincible girl who’d gone missing the last week and a half, Pyrrha Nikos with two different colored eyes. _Wait…_

“I’m sorry” Came Pyrrha’s voice sounding stranger than the last time Emerald heard it. “That you barged into me”

_Something’s off, Pyrrha never stops apologizing and the eyes_. Then the realization hit her like a Mach truck. _They already made her a Maiden. _She allowed herself a grin but hid it from her illusion. _Cinder will be so happy to hear this._

“Oh Yeah Sorry Pyrrha” she responded affecting the usual jovial comradery that the Beacon students always freakin showed one another. “Say Where you headed?”

“Do I know you?” Pyrrha asked a look of confusion on her face before recognition sprung back up “Coco sorry my mistake, I’m heading to…” she stopped midsentence looking over emerald’s shoulder. As Emerald turn a shadow fell over her along with the scent of boozy sweat.

Qrow Branwen stood right in front of her flask in hand and sword scythe in his other. A raven cawed as if to exemplify her doom. She didn’t have time to pull the illusion on him too, he’d notice it anyway so she froze and hoped nothing would give her away.

"Sup," he said voice completely level. "Quit prying kiddo, work’s classified”

Emerald raised her hands in apology and took a step back from the both of them.

"I'm sorry," she said hoping that neither of them caught on "I just haven't seen Pyrrha in a while and was just checking in”

Qrow leaned closer to her and the smell of booze was almost overwhelming Emerald had to stifle a cough it was so bad. His red eyes ran over her, again and again, scrutinizing her. "You're one of Ruby's friends aren't yah?"

“Yes but we were on a schedule right?” Pyrrha piped in.

Qrow’s eye glanced over Emerald a final time, then quickly shifted from her to Pyrrha and as drunk as he smelled his face remained stone-cold sober. He nodded his chin towards the tall Mistralian who gave Emerald a small smile then began jogging down the docks.

_Well, I couldn't figure out where she was headed _Emerald thought, letting out a sigh of relief _But at least she didn’t blow my cover in front of Branwen._

“See you around Coco” Pyrrha shouted back towards Emerald's hand waving in excitement. Emerald’s heart stopped for a second and she waited for Qrow to take notice and for the inconsistency to hit him, but evidently he was either unfamiliar with the names of Ruby’s friends or was too drunk to remember. The bird overhead let out a caw that almost sounded like laughter.

Emerald looked towards the blackbird and it looked back with crimson eyes and suddenly she felt scrutinized again. _I gotta tell cinder_ she thought as she jogged from Beacon eager to both bring good news and to get away from scrutinizing eyes.

* * *

Raven sat perched atop the lamp light watching as the green-haired girl fled from Beacon. _Coco_, she thought _The red-headed monster called her ‘Coco’_

Taking wing from her perch she only took on her true form when she landed on one of Beacon's towers. Retrieving her scroll she looked through the list of Vytal festival contestants. _Just an honest mistake… no never here, not when she’s involved._

Coco Adel's golden brown hair eventually appeared on Raven's screen and she couldn't help but smirk, the name didn't fit someone that green anyway. Scrolling down further she came upon a face to match the fleeing woman. _Emerald Sustrai a color fitting name and look at her team._

**EMERALD SUSTRAI**

**School: **Haven

**Partner: **Mercury Black

**Height: **5’6”

**Semblance: **Unknown

Raven lingered on the page for a second as her mind put pieces together allowing for conjecture and speculation to run rampant. Suddenly the screen of the scroll cracked under her grip, she didn’t even feel the need to acted shocked, she gripped the scroll with her other hand and ripped it clean in half allowing the pieces to fall from the tower.

“So that’s what they did” she muttered to herself and the icy grip of rage touched her. “They stuck their fingers into my Daughter’s head. MY DAUGHTER!”

Raven slammed her fist into her chest just to let out some of her titanic aggression, she was high enough that no one would hear or see her so what did it matter. Suddenly she felt eyes on her and turned towards Beacon’s tallest tower, Ozpin’s tower and felt in her soul that the Old man was watching her at that exact moment. Most people brush off that feeling as paranoia but Raven knew better.

_Was this a part of your plan as well Ozpin. _Pulling out Yureru she ripped a portal into reality and walked away. _Enjoy it while you can then cause after them we’re coming for you._


	17. The Great Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hunt is on meanwhile Ironwood unleashes his trump card

Yang was falling. It wasn’t the first time she’d fallen, in fact she dreamed of falling so often that only when the wind whistled in her ear and the earth rose up to meet her was her mind filled with near perfect calm. Time seemed to slow as she descended and she was able to take stock of what had occurred. Weiss’d sealed her hand in a gauntlet that seemed to weigh a ton, and she’d flung herself off the roof to both throw Weiss off her game and to escape.

_It’s the Vytal festival all over again_ she thought as the tears welled. Turning in the air she brought the gauntleted fist back and slammed it into the earth full force focusing her aura to her right arm and shoulder to prevent breaking. The Gauntlet dented and deformed under the force of the hit and yet still stayed strong as well as stuck to her.

_No matter Mother’s lessons will pull me through. _Focusing her semblance enhanced strength to her left arm and her durability Aura to her right she gripped the Gauntlet's remains and ripped it from her wrist with a roar of power. Her heart was pulsing in her head drowning out other noises, she felt twitches run through her as the festival replayed in her head and she smelt the nauseating scent of iron in her nose. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a white flash land near her.

Weiss Schnee landed nearby, Myrtlenaster in her hand and tears streaming down her face. Few people cry well but Weiss was hardly one of the crowd.

_Please don’t make me do this_ Yang thought half knowing Weiss must be thinking the same. _I can fight the others, but not you, not to the end at least._

**_Let the dragon out_** something whispered into Yang’s ear and she did her best to stamp it down. She couldn’t do it here and now cause… cause…

Before she could finish her thought a glowing blue broadsword slashed at Yang’s head and she instinctively ducked beneath the blade.

Mrytlenaster shot forward and racked across the Aura of Yang's upper arm, rolling with the thrust Yang cartwheeled away from Weiss in an effort to make the distance. Weiss launched from the ground up to a high glyph then down towards Yang bringing both weapons down in a cutting ark. 

_She’s still crying_ Yang noted before firing Ember Celica launching her back out of the range of Weiss’ strike. The cut cratered the concrete beneath Weiss and sent out a deafening boom. _Crying but not holding back it seems._

**Find a weakness and exploit it.**

_Mother knows best. _Yang fired ember Celica again this time firing herself towards Weiss instead of away. The atlesian didn't even flinch as Yang spun through the air towards her. Launching out a wicked spin kick right at the top of Weiss' head Yang expected her to block it, was banking on it actually. The Glyph blade caught the leg and in that instant that Yang hung in the air she made eye contact with Weiss.

"Again?" she asked still looking at Weiss and in that millisecond where Weiss blinked Ember Celica fired right into Weiss' chest. The Heiress was knocked stumbling back as Yang fell to the floor, it hurt her to do it but she couldn't let up not with Weiss, the little snow dwarf was too powerful. "You're going to betray me again?"

“No Yang I-” Yang launched herself from her position on all fours tackling towards the heiress’s stomach a Black glyph appeared at the wall next to Yang and she was pulled towards it. But Weiss was off her game and her will was unfocused and instead of crashing into the wall Yang skidded across it, pressed her palm against the brickwork and launched off, sure it required as much force as it would to do a backflip from a handstand position but Yang was trained for this type of fight.

Time seemed to slow as her fist sailed at Weiss’ pristine face, a beautiful face. _One punch is all I need, please let it end with one._

In a blue flash of light, Yang's fist collided with something, but it wasn't Weiss' face, it wasn't even her aura it was a small floating black Glyph that halted Yang's assault. Yang knew what was about to happen next and was powerless to stop it as her fist was launched back from Weiss with an enormous force.

Yang was powerless to resist the force but smart enough to take advantage and a split second before her right fist was fired back her left hand grabbed the hem of Weiss’ skirt. Any normal skirt would have torn but this was a combat skirt and was durable as hell which is why when Yang went sailing Weiss was brought along with her.

_The key to fighting Weiss is to keep her off balance_

As Yang’s right fist slammed into the wall knocking a chunk out of it she heaved with all her aura enhanced might and flung Weiss as far as she could. The Heiress sailed through the air like Jaune on the first day at Beacon. Yang watched her go for an instant before turning her heels southward away from Weiss, Ruby and the rest of this mess and was set to sprint when a spinning snow blue ball of tusks smashed into the side of her head.

_Come on dammit_ she thought, looking as the ghostly boarbatusk snorted right in her face, it lifted its head to strike at her with its tusks when Yang’s hands shot out, grabbed the tusk and threw the glyph-Grimm through the adjoining wall. The force of the throw and the Weight of the Grimm flung Yang through the hole she'd just created into the warehouse that once was filled with White Fang… that now was filled with Atlas nerds…

_Dust this couldn't happen to anyone else, could it?_

* * *

**The Hunt**

The forest Yang found herself in was enormous in every sense of the word, the trees were gigantic, the rocky outcroppings dwarfed most buildings in Vale and the non-Grimm wild-life towered over the blonde huntress. This is where Yang had wanted to be her whole life in some far-off place that seemed like an entirely different world. Yang stood atop of a root of one of the titanic trees raised her hands over her head and let out a joyful shout into the sky.

Just like that first time with the dust crystal she felt alive again, she let out a laugh as she saw the birds and other fauna scramble to escape from her.

“Yeah that’s right you better run!” she shouted after them unafraid of anyone overhearing her, she was so deep into the forest no one who saw her would even know who she was. The smile died as she felt the old throbbing start, first in her temple then her shoulder. “Right right focus on the hunt”

Her mother had deemed her hunt worthy 3 days prior and given Yang general coordinates and suggested she look there for her Alpha. Her alpha, Raven had said that in such a strange way and part of Yang fussed over whether she should be more concerned over that or more frightened over referring to a Grimm in such a possessive manner. But that speculation could wait till after the hunt was done.

Focusing her aura to her ears and nose Yang listened and smelled for Grimm. The background noise of creatures with souls faded to nothing as the scent of freshly fallen leaves vanished away as well. She needed to hear the sounds of a hate-filled predator and smell the stench of a bitter monster that's stewed in its own misery for years. She needed an Alpha and those beasts were the bitterest angry little festering creatures on the planet just like Mercury right before she snapped his leg. Yang smiled at that memory, sure it set off the most miserable set of days in Yang's life but that event was still satisfying in Yang's book.

_Little punk_ Yang thought to herself.

Then she heard it, no not it, them! The Grimm were drawn by her anger and self-aggrandizing, her negative emotions drew them in, she would be surrounded soon. Yang grinned she had them where she wanted them.

_No weapons or back up, but I am still Yang Xiao Long_. Yang took a deep breath letting the adrenaline rush through her using her aura to enhance it and move it along faster.

Again she focused the location of her aura putting necessary minimums over her whole body strengthening her blind spots more than anywhere else and finally focusing a strong portion of it to her arm muscles and to her knuckles. She opened her mouth and exhaled a fiery hot breath. _I am the Dragon._

Flinging herself from the root she landed feet first on the first creature a Beowulf, not what she was looking for but a good sign, the creature's head bucked backward and it let out a snarl swiping at her with a claw a second after Yang had vaulted over it's skull. The creature whipped around spinning right into Yang’s oncoming right hook, the strike breaking the creature’s skull and knocking it to the ground. Pain lanced through Yang’s knuckles and wrist but she couldn’t focus on that right now the other Grimm were fast approaching.

_This would be so much easier with Ember Celica__._ She thought as the wrist pain dissipated and the Grimm started stalking around her, her eyes searched among them looking for the Alpha she was after. _No. no. wrong size. Too fat. That’s just a wolf painted black and no. Where is it?_

She heard the other Beowulf coming at her, felt the air of it’s claw swiping right at the back of her head and she ducked beneath the strike, spun around and knocked its scrawny legs out from underneath it with a sweeping kick. As the creature fell Yang surged forward took hold of its ankle and charged the group of fast approaching creeps.

_Remember the broken chopstick Yang and make do with the tools on hand._

The Beowulf tried to swipe at Yang again and as it did she swung it into the oncoming creeper crowd and its claws tore through them while its body bludgeoned through the few that survived.

_Hit a mother fucker with another mother fucker!_

Back and forth she swept the beast until it struck an upraised rock and it too dissipated. An Ursa shot in towards her thrusting its claws at her, Yang parried the oncoming claw with her right hand then backhanded it with the knuckles of the same hand. The evil bear turned with the attack and Yang gripped its back in a bear hug before slamming it headfirst into the ground with a suplex.

As she scrambled to her feet a Boarbatusk tackled her in the side and sent her flying, before she struck anything a medium sized nevermore swooped in and racked at her with its claws. She hit the ground hard but was able to dilute the momentum with a forward roll. Again her eyes scanned the crowd and still no Alpha.

“Come on!” she shouted as the Boarbatusk rolled at her again, as it was about to hit she focused a majority of her aura to her heel and spin kicked the beast into a crowd of creeps bowling them over. “Bring me a real challenge!”

As if on cue she heard it, the thunder in the ground as it approached, the other Grimm scattered as if afraid of the oncoming force. As they should have been, every rational creature in that woods was afraid of this monstrosity. Yang too felt that primal fear but beneath it was something else, an excitement of the fight to come and the monster she was about to see.

What emerged from the foliage was an abomination; an Ursa that would have towered a full head over any Ursa Yang had killed before; it's dorsal spines were enormous and were all pointed at a slightly upwards angle, around its ankles and wrists were bone plates that interlocked like lobster scales and its chest was sealed in a sheer plate of red and white bone.

_There’s **my** Alpha_ she thought, letting the excitement take over her, she took a defensive stance and retrieved a black dust crystal from one of the packs on her waist. Lifting the shard to her mouth, she bit down on it and focused her aura. _I can do this_

The Alpha Ursa let out a roar that Yang tried to match through the crystal in her mouth. The creature looked at her in confusion for a second tilting it's head like a dog before it slammed it's front claws into the dirt, humped its back and fired its spines right at Yang. Caught off guard Yang hastily threw up her aura and tried to dodge as many of the oncoming spines as she could but the surprise attack still managed to wear away a good portion of her Aura. 

"Okay so you can hit the broad side-" before she could finish the sentence the Alpha charged her, she just managed to spring out of the way and saw the beast slam into the gigantic tree and rip a 12-foot deep chunk out of it before turning back towards the young huntress. "-barn…"

Bugger this creature was faster than Yang had expected and since she was without her gauntlets she was lacking in any ranged attacks. The creature dug into the earth again and seemed to sneer at Yang, the pulse of her anger flared at this creature’s apparent mockery, but instead of stamping down those feelings she let them flow into her and empower her. She slammed her fist into her chest.

“COME AND GET ME YOU HONEY-SWILLING FUCKER” she roared defiance at the creature. The Alpha obliged charging her yet again. This time instead of just dodging she juked to the side only a foot from the beast and slammed an open palm right into the side of the creature's head. It felt like hitting concrete but it was enough to throw the creature off balance and fling it into a nearby stone.

**Use your enemy’s own momentum against them**.

Her mother’s advice whispered in her ear and like her mother she pressed her advantage. She sprinted towards the Ursa, scooping up one of its leftover spines as she did, the Alpha turned towards her swinging its claw right at her face. Yang ducked beneath the swipe, sprung back up and stabbed the spine up into the Ursa’s armpit, the creature let out a howl of pain and Yang couldn’t hold back a smirk. The smirk died when she felt the Alpha grab the back of her neck.

_Shit_, she thought as she was flung into the air. The ground moving like a treadmill set on maximum beneath her and Yang cursed her gloating. _Dammit I was gonna save this for later_

Biting down on the black dust shard Yang focused her semblance and what little force she’d accumulated from her own striking of the Grimm and suddenly the speed of her sailing decreased until she was softly dropped to the ground.

“Whew Gravity dust sure works won-” The Alpha Ursa body-slammed her before she was able to finish the sentence. Her Aura screamed under the force of the strike and Yang soon realized that she was screaming along with it, the Ursa slammed her into the base of a tree burying Yang inside the shredded trunk. Yang vomited up blood the force hit her so hard, Aura or no that was a force that could not be ignored.

The Ursa sprung back from her and Yang fell out of the tree and right into the mud, she started to raise her arms shaking with the effort she was so disorientated by that sudden strike she found it difficult to resummons her aura. Looking up from the mud she was able to see the Grimm bear sprinting towards her again in a full-out charge. Yang was only just able to fling herself out of the way of the creature's oncoming attack but just as it was about to pass her it stuck out its arm and its claw racked across Yang's back.

Yang yelped in pain as her Aura struggled to heal the heavy gashes in her back, she was losing a bit of blood and this creature kept pressing her, not letting her focus even for a second. She had to let instinct take over, let her training rule her so she did what her mother had taught her and focused her aura away from the gashes on her back.

**It doesn’t matter if you are starving, broken or dying, if you can breathe you can fight.**

Yang slammed her fists together focused her Aura to the dust crystal in her mouth and roared bloody murder at the Ursa. A black haze started to surround Yang and she felt the very earth pulling down on her. The Ursa once again charged her smirk plastered on its hideous maw. As the creature struck her it was shocked to find that unlike last time its prey was only shifted back a foot or two and worse yet The Ursa saw with mounting dread the human was starting to push it back. The Ursa dug its back legs into the ground and tried to pedal forward but the prey would not budge, it was as if the Alpha was trying to push remnant itself.

"Gravity dust works wonder!" Yang's head pulled back and she slammed her forehead right into the Ursa’s bone mask. The Alpha reeled its head back in surprise before lashing its teeth out right towards Yang’s neck. Yang’s left fist shot out punching the bite away, unimpressed by the force of the punch the creature bit down on Yang’s arm and she felt her Aura cracking under the great pressure. She drew back her other fist to try and strike at the beast but its claw shot out and took hold of Yang’s wrist squeezing it with tremendous pressure.

The gravity dust Yang was channeling right now may have turned her into an immovable object but it definitely hadn’t turned her into an indestructible one and she knew the Ursa would soon breakthrough her Aura and tear her apart.

_What do I do what do I do? _Yang paused for a second and let the thoughts flow into her mind unimpeded. If she let this thing rip her apart now so what, what did she care? She didn't have a real home to go back to, she didn't have a sister anymore, She was a wanted woman, her partner abandoned her, her uncle thought she was crazy, her own mother was crazy and her… Weiss had sold her out to Atlas. She was alone. Wouldn’t it be better if she just laid down and died her in this freak’s mouth? Yes much better.

But if she died here, she wouldn’t see her mother again, she wouldn’t see Weiss again, she wouldn’t beat a confession out of the fucker Mercury. Yang’s left arm started to push against the mouth biting down on it lifting the head up and to the left exposing the neck. If she died here she wouldn’t see the world! She wouldn’t know why this crap happened to her! SHE’D BE WEAK!

Yang let out an animalistic roar and surged forward biting down right on the Grimm's neck. The Alpha whined in surprise and released her arm from its teeth. Big mistake. Yang's hand, now free, shot out grabbed the left edge of the Ursa’s mask and jerked its mouth away from Yang’s head. Yang pulled back tearing a huge chunk of black putrid flesh from the Ursa’s neck. Like Raven had said Yang focused her aura to her teeth, the inside of her mouth throat and stomach, and only then did she allow herself to swallow the now dissolving flesh. The Grimm flesh's taste was rancid and as it hit her stomach a strange feeling hit her. In an instant, her senses were bombarded with a new feeling. These new sensations were ‘fuzzy' in some manner and as quickly as it came, it vanished but Yang was far from done.

The Urse let go of her right hand and started to pull away but Yang now with all hands-free locked the Ursa in place and she bit down again. Yang wasn’t a quitter she’d finish what she started. It had been a long week, month, Year! Life! and dammit Yang was hungry.

And there was a lot of meat to go.

* * *

**Present**

The Atlas nerd froze for only a split second, it was a split second shorter than the white fang Yang granted them but still, they hesitated. Her eye's scanned the room as fast as possible and she'd already made an accurate assessment of all present. 6 grunts and 2 specialists. The one in armor had a strange segmented sword on his back while the more fashionably dressed one had a trumpet in his hand… a trumpet.?

_And hey it’s Flynt coal, seems he went corporate._ Yang thought as she punched the nearest Atlas grunt in the head. As the man stumbled back Yang flung the Boarbatusk into 4 of the remaining grunts and hammered the man again. The man started to fall for a second before Yang grabbed his ankle and flung him at Flynt. _He’s the biggest threat here, his semblance and that trumpet are no joke._

As the body flew through the air Yang chased after it making sure the stunned grunt remained between her and the man with the trumpet, she pumped her aura to her legs to power this blitz attack. Before the body struck the ground Yang juked to the side and saw Flynt lifting the trumpet towards his lips.

**Specialists are tricky when they have control over a specific situation they are unbeatable but their specialization creates its own set of weaknesses.**

Yang focused a large portion of her aura to the knuckles on her front two fingers as she struck Flynt right in the throat, his aura protected him from any breakings but her aura was more focused and the force of the blow forced a choking sound out of him. He flailed a closed-fist backhand towards Yang’s face but she ducked beneath the swing spun around and hammed her elbow right into Flynt’s solar plexus. And his choking became replaced with him attempting to gasp for breath.

Yang might not have been fighting these guys for entertainment but she did have to admit she was proud of that set of moves right there. _Damn, I'm good._

The remaining grunts were already rushing towards Yang with the remaining specialist keeping a fair distance from the brawl. The first grunt came at her swinging a single handed sword down towards Yang’s collar. Catching the blade in her palm Yang slammed a stomp kick into his groin, he let out a high pitched noise dropped his sword and crumpled like paper. As more Atlesians rushed her, Yang’s eyes were scanning all present. _No Ranged weapons worth a damn save the trumpet._

Coincidentally as Yang turned back to face her main threat he seemed to have finally brought in a breath of Air. _That won’t do._ Wordlessly Yang flung the sword right into Flynt’s trumpet the blade stuck inside the horn, Flynt had only a second to look both slightly impressed and annoyed before Yang swept her legs out from under him. As he fell Yang’s hand shot out and snatched the trumpet from his hand. Yang flung herself back away from the remaining Atlas soldiers who all had worried looks on their half hid faces, they’d seen what that horn could do. _Too bad I can’t play, but they don’t know that._

Yang lifted up the horn, took a deep breath, the Atlesians flinched and she threw the trumpet amongst them firing Ember Celica right at the dust-filled instrument. To say the explosion was powerful would undercut how many different types of dust were packed into that single instrument. The force of it ripped apart the remaining load-bearing walls, crashed the flyer on top of it and sent out so much dust and smoke that 3 blocks over were covered in it. The Atlesians were out of the game, Yang had her two conflicting reports she needed and her Evac would be there shortly.

_Almost done almost home free_ Yang thought to herself as the building collapsed around her. _But gotta remember what mom said about Luck_.

* * *

**Hint at Horror**

Ironwood stalked down the corridor of The Typhon, his gate giving off an air of authority and to the very eagle-eyed amongst his crew, fear. Tension on the ship had been high lately and he'd struggled to maintain his crew's morale during that time period. But who could blame them, each of them in one way or another had been responsible for creating a monster, him most of all. Dealing with that guilt was made all the more difficult by the source of that guilt walking around the ship.

He never liked it when She… It came to visit and he liked it even less when he needed something from it. He finally reached the end of the hallway deep in the bowels of the ship, in front of him were 2 enormous dark green doors made of some strange metal that only Ozpin seemed capable of getting his hands on. Inside the room, Ironwood could hear rumbling.

For a second he thought about turning around and just leaving or sending a messenger or even just not bothering it with this mission. But at the end of the day, James Ironwood was a general and a general must have the strength to make the hard choices. Reaching out he pressed against the Green door and pushed it open.

The room in front of him was a gymnasium, its size was mitigated by its location within the bowels of the ship but it was still quite large. There were machine parts strewn throughout the gym in various conditions of disarray and, he noted with slight annoyance, burn holes throughout the room’s walls and floors. All exercise equipment had been shifted elsewhere so that the whole room could be utilized as a combat training area. In the center of the room was his ‘Guest’.

She wore armor, not the bronze gear that she wore in Beacon but a collapsible plate armor made of the same strange green metal that decorated the Gym’s door. _Ozpin green, the vault green_. The color-matched one of her eyes and again both were staring at the general boring into him. It always seemed to do that whenever he looked towards it, it was always staring at him.

_Does she… it just constantly look at me?_ That thought would haunt Ironwood’s nightmares for a week or two.

"Hello General," she said her voice sounding off in a way Ironwood could never quite articulate. She smiled at him, whether it was a mocking smile or a comforting he couldn't decide. She brought her hands together in a lowered steeple, and he noticed, they were kept well away from her weapons at her back.

_But she doesn't need her hands to draw them, does she?_

"We have a job for you," he said deciding to cut to the chase. She tilted her head in curiosity. "We need you to retrieve Yang Xiao Long from Vacuo”

No reaction showed on her pristine smiling face. The general let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that. _Better no reaction than one of the meltdowns._

“Alive right?” she asked voice chipper. “and will there be anyone who might get in the way?”

“We want minimal casualties and yes we’d prefer her returned alive” he paused considering the options and settled on the option least likely to severely damage his ship. “Team Junior is present”

That hung in the air like the amity coliseum and, both green and Brown eyes began to glow as they stared into the General. Without moving a finger one of the swords on her back moved into her hand and she started walking towards Ironwood. He watched the blade as she walked and saw the tip glowing white with the controlled heat running through it, she’d never attacked him before but he was never someone that was loved by the new Fall maiden. She stopped when she was only an inch away from the general. Once she was half a head shorter than him but now she looked down into his eyes. Ironwood was always curious how the maiden powers enhanced people’s physical traits and with Miss Nikos he suspected it accelerated that growth somehow.

“They won’t get in the way will they?” she asked her green eye taking on a pleading look while her brown eye lacked any emotion whatsoever.

“They’ll be after her as well but, no they shouldn’t get in the way”

_For their own sakes if nothing else._ He thought before flinching back as the Fall maiden threw her red-hot blade into the air. The blade spun faster than a bullhead's propeller before falling back down and being caught on the tip of the maiden's finger sizzling slightly as it was held there... she smiled at him and this time he was sure that that smile was cruel.

“I look forward to the job General” she flicked her finger and the sword returned to its sheath on her back. “It’s always nice to see old friends”

Satisfied Ironwood turned away from what was once Pyrrha Nikos and started walking towards the gym’s exit.

“Oh General” came a lilting voice and he froze in his tracks. Turning he found the Fall maiden’s face was an inch from his own, he hadn’t even heard her move. She smiled down at him. “One last thing before you go”

“Yes?” he said nervously feeling the urge to reach for his pistol.

"I want the little droid girl to join me is all," she said taking a step away from him. She lifted her hand and casually waved the exercise equipment back into their proper place. An effort like that would have exhausted her in her younger years but now she barely seemed to notice she was doing it.

“That might be an issue” getting his hands-on Penny might be problematic considering the fall maidens track record with partners in the past.

"I'm sure you'll find a way around it," she said waving him away "I'm sorry for the inconvenience"

Ironwood swiftly left the room. Only when the door’s closed behind him did the general allow himself to let out the breath he’d been holding. He could feel the sweat pouring over his chest and forehead and worse still, he was sure those eyes were still watching him through the Ozpin green doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by Alie-Black-Cat. Glad everyone is enjoying the work so far, can't wait to upload the rest of it. Also Halloween is on the horizon!!! woo


	18. Getting Pretty Grimm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang gets cornered, Ruby is close on the Case, Weiss taps into here newly developed talents and Yang in the past delves into dark deeds.

**Ruby**

Ruby gently bent down and reaffixed Blake’s hood on her head. A bartender with a Yang’s-fist sized shiner gently eyed her from behind his bar. If Ruby had to rate the bar’s destruction on a scale from 1 to 10 she’d rate it a 7… Yang leaving a 7? That was odd.

_She’s usually more destructive than that_ Ruby thought again looking around and seeing no damage to the load-bearing pillars and no holes in any of the walls. _This building has all its walls intact for remnant’s sake. Focus Ruby team member hurt._

Ruby saw the bruises around Blake’s neck and chin, also that a folded suit jacket had been laid beneath her head. Reaching down Ruby held her fingers against the bruised neck and felt the whump-whump of the Faunus’ pulse. Unconscious but not in serious danger. She sighed as her brain tried to reconstruct the fight in her head, Blake had been foolish and maybe Yang had forced the issue but Blake must have had an opportunity to run and not taken it. Pulling out her scroll Ruby dialed Hunter emergency services before walking to the bar. The bartender lifted a hand palm up towards her.

"I.D" he simply said and Ruby gave him a warm smile before retrieving her huntress license and setting on the bar between them. The big bruised man looked the I.D up and down eyebrow-raising occasionally. "Ruby Rose-Xiao-Long… says your 18. Feh, what can I get yah girly?"

“Information” Ruby put on her best Qrow-face hoping it would be enough to show the bartender how serious she was, judging by his neutral expression it wasn’t working as well as it usually did for Qrow. “You saw the fight here right?”

“I did”

“Who was fighting?”

“That Faunus chick there” he nodded towards the unconscious Blake, then hesitated before nodding northwards. “And some blonde chick who went that way”

Ruby’s silver eyes gleamed at the hesitation, especially the way his eye wandered the four directions before settling on that. Was he judging whether it would be more beneficial to sell Yang out or to let her go? Ruby thought he might have bet on the latter since she didn’t hear him call Yang by her real name. _Which he certainly knows_.

“We’ve met before did you know that?”

He didn't look up from the glass he was polishing and Ruby thought back to the first time she'd seen this man. He was flying through the window of some trashy nightclub, it kind of looked like the one Ruby was in right now actually. He flew out and Yang stood over his unconscious body eyes red until she saw Ruby. **Oh hey, sis!** Ruby sighed, those were good days.

“That a fact?” he grunted still not meeting Ruby’s gaze

“It was about 2 and a half years ago actually” Ruby rubbed her chin feigning being in deep thought. “Let me think… yeah it was right before the school year started and my sister had just thrown you through a window if I remember correctly”

He swallowed audibly and finally met Ruby’s piercing silver eyes. “It’s coming back to me, seems an odd thing for a huntress to remember. One strange incident in a life filled with weird crap.”

He laughed nervously looking around the room and found that he was without his guys and far away from most exits. Ruby just gave him a bright smile.

"Well my sister was quite memorable" Ruby kind of wished she'd ordered a drink reminiscing would be more fun if she had a drink to nurse, Least that’s what Qrow always said. "Though I never got your name"

“Junior Xiong," he said voice still nervous but gruff once more.

“Ruby Rose” Ruby extended her hand towards junior. “Now we’ve been properly introduced”

Junior hesitantly reached out his hand and gripped Ruby’s. Ruby tightened her grip and as he pulled back she didn’t let go letting him feel the weight of her aura and let him know how different they were in terms of raw power. But only for a second then she let go and Junior eyed her with a new level of…Respect? Strange it was usually just fear.

"So Junior, Which way did my sister really go after she beat up Blake?" Ruby asked still keeping her voice chipper and positive even though inside she was crying out for answers right now. On the inside, she was shrieking like a Nuckelavee.

Junior just smirked at her which did nothing to alieve the screams in her head.

"What's it worth to you?" he asked leaning over the bar as he did. Ruby could feel a light humming behind her eyes as she looked up into the bartender and weighed her options; fight, pay, coerce or play to his humanity. She almost laughed out loud at that last one.

“I could whup your butt”

“True you could” Junior answered “But your sister could kill me”

Ruby reached into her pocket and retrieved a couple of Lien. "I could pay for the info"

“True you could but it’s gotta be high enough for me to risk pissing off Yang and…” Junior shivered slightly “and Raven”

Ruby thought it through, she had a comfortable amount of cash but nothing like what Junior was asking from her, heck even if Weiss still had Schnee-money she wasn't sure she could fit that ‘worth risking death' bill. She'd be willing to spend everything she had if it would help her bring Yang back home, to her dad and to patch, but she was afraid everything wouldn't be enough. She ran her fingers through her hair, rested her head against the bar and released a tired sigh.

“Junior do you have any siblings?” she asked not bothering to lift her head from the bar.

"Yeah, two younger brothers" Junior answered after a moment's hesitation.

“You ever hurt your brothers?

“…yeah”

She felt the old tears building behind her eyes but she was sure to keep them out of her voice.

"I hurt my sister, really bad and its cause I did that that she's the way she is now. Angry, alone, crazy and violent. CAUSE OF WHAT I DID!" Ruby shouted slamming her fist onto the bar cracking it underneath her fist. Raising her head she locked eyes with Junior. "I need to make things right with Yang and to do that I need to know where she is. Please, I'll give you what I can, money, information, a blind eye, favors you name it."

There was a long pause where neither of them spoke, or moved and the moment seemed to drag on for ages finally Junior spoke.

“You and your team owe me a favor… just don’t tell her I told you” Junior raised his finger and pointed southwards. “She was heading that way last I saw”

Suddenly a far-off explosion reverberated through the bar and Ruby couldn't help but let out a snort, which was followed by a laugh. She looked up at Junior with her glowing silver eyes, reaching into her pocket and threw down a hundred lien note.

"Guess we owe you a favor for nothing" she flicked her head towards Blake still unconscious. "The money's so you'll keep an eye on her till the medics arrive, please keep the hood up ok"

Junior gave her a quick nod and shrugged his shoulders. “Hey I don’t judge what company yah keep”

Ruby didn’t look back at him as she zoomed out of the bar towards the sound of the explosion. Towards Yang.

* * *

**Weiss**

The black gravity Glyphs around Weiss’ feet brought her to a soft if a bit slow landing on the Vacuoian roof. As she daintily set down on the ground she allowed herself one second of pride. Managing to summon a boarbatusk, instill orders into it and utilize her grav-glyphs to right herself before executing a safe landing, all while flying through the air at an ungodly speed. Even for a professional hunter many years Weiss’ senior, that string of actions was nothing to sneeze at. Her confident grin died as soon as the shame from the rest of the fight hit her, Yang had deliberately pushed her buttons and threw her off her rhythm.

_And I had allowed it to happen_ she thought letting the bitterness take hold. But only for an instant, no longer. Yang wasn’t in her right mind, she hadn’t been in years and Weiss had to bring her back home. Needed to bring her back, she couldn’t help but remember the kiss they shared on the roof the fiery passion of it. Weiss shook her head, she needed to focus right now.

As Weiss reached the edge of the roof and was about to jump to the next an ear-shattering explosion rang out and a micro-second later was followed by a shock wave that sent Weiss stumbling. When she landed, she realized that she recognized that sound, it was the sound made by a mixed dust explosion. Rushing to the building's edge she looked out and saw only the smoke and dust a crumbling building could create. The white concrete dust was mixing with the black smoke of some fire deep within.

_What the hell happened_? Weiss thought when she heard a loud metallic crash ring out almost like an afterthought to the original explosion. _And that’s the Atlesian Dropship. Which means Yang’s gonna be looking for a new escape route._

Weiss knelt on the roof, pulled out Mrytlenaster and rested it across her knees. The air around her became colder and the sun seemed to avoid striking her, the chill built and built as she focused her aura.

“Perfect eyes, perfect sight perfect mind with perfect might” she intoned as 4 glyphs appeared around her summoning forth 2 alpha beowolves, the porcupine Faunus and her ever-present knight. With a nod, the beowolves shot off towards the eastern and the western edges of the smoke cloud, while the porcupine sprinted towards the south. “Leaving me with the north”

Weiss looked up at the knight, it was not set there to look out for Yang like the others were, but it was put there to protect her from unforeseen threats. The young ex-heiress sighed, she always loathed adding this level of mysticism to her semblance but the archaic saying did grant her a certain focus, closing her left eye she saw through the eye of the White Fang lieutenant she'd killed a year ago, it was the first non-Grimm she’d slain and it had haunted her. With a focus of her aura her sight changed again to the western Beowulf then the eastern and back to the Porcupine, and though this deed could eat at her aura I granted her near-perfect surveillance of the battlefield.

_Oh, Yang where are you?_

Weiss’s vision flitted between her summons guarding each of the cardinal directions looking for anything that might hint at where Yang would head. The Summons besides being her eyes were also set to attack Yang should they see her emerging. _But they’re set to cease if her aura is canceled out._

There was a flash in her real vision and Weiss grabbed up Mrytlenaster and opened her left eye to watch a shadow moving through the smoke. The Knight lifted its gigantic great-sword and began to move towards the shadow but Weiss lifted her hand to hold it back, to wait and see what emerged.

What crawled out was Flynt Coal coughing heavily and gripping his throat. Weiss nodded and the knight jumped down to land next to the Atlesian specialist who flinched back from the glowing white titan, he looked up and Weiss gave him a not-unfriendly nod and the knight set its hand down before him in a gesture that politely said ‘Air Glyph-knight is now taking passengers’. Reluctantly Flynt boarded.

He was still struggling to breathe when he was set down next to Weiss. She cursed herself for not bringing Jaune along with her, the boy wasn’t the best fighter in their group but he was far more skilled than Weiss when it came to battlefield medic skills. Luckily Flynt seemed to only have the wind knocked out of him.

"Breath in Flynt," she said with icy calm as she continued to survey the battlefield "just breath in"

Flynt took a gasping intake of air coughed a bit before crawling up into a kneeling position. His throat was almost purple with bruises and his nose and mouth were caked with soot and dust. Weiss noticed that he winced when he put weight on his knees. He gave Weiss a not unfriendly look before attempting to survey the dust cloud.

“She’s in there somewhere” his voice came out cracked as he struggled to get the words out. “Why don’t you send your big guy in to go get her?”

Weiss closed her left eye and checked all her guards, still nothing.

“Did you hear me!” he asked attempting to be demanding and falling flat. Weiss sighed not bothering to open her left eye.

“I’m actually struggling with that right now, might have something to do with your throat being used as a speed-bag.” Weiss put on her snootiest voice she could muster, why bother with politeness here, the man had insulted her and her team, directly called her a traitor and she’d still pulled him out of the dust cloud, he owed her damn it, she could speak to him however she liked. “And try to remember that I’m not a part of the Atlesian military so that you might save those orders for someone who’d follow them”

She didn’t need to be that rude, but fuck it she’d had a long day, she wasn’t the heiress anymore and dammit they were rude to her as soon as they laid eyes on her. As the summons scanned the dust cloud there still were no signs of Yang.

_Dammit, where are you, Yang?_

She found herself getting more and more annoyed. Of course, her well laid out fool-proof plan would fail when presented with the chaos that was Yang Xiao Long, how wonderfully typical of her. Her annoyance only grew when one of her summons saw a man flung out of the dust wearing nothing but his underwear.

_You’re kidding me she wouldn’t._ Weiss thought as another half-naked grunt was flung out of the dust cloud on the opposite side.

“Flynt, How many men did you have for this investigation?” he gave her an angry look

“Bout 6 why?”

As if on cue 3 people wearing disheveled and loose-fitting Atlesian armor sprinted from the dust clouds without hesitation Weiss set her summons upon them, not to harm but to capture and investigate. One of them might be Yang, Weiss almost chuckled it was a wild ruse but Yang hadn’t accounted for the versatility of her summons. The eastern grunt was captured by her Beowulf no problem, the western ducked and weaved a little more and was considerably more difficult for the 2nd Beowulf to get its hands on.

_Is this one Yang?_ As the Beowulf swiped the target’s legs out from underneath them before pinning them to the ground. Her White fang was met with direct confrontation, the Glyph ghost was struck directly in the face with the butt of a rifle but after a minute of struggle, it too managed to restrain its target.

As Weiss smiled in triumph she was vaguely aware of the some far off popping noise. Each of her Glyph summons tore off the helmets of their captured grunts, the first was a dude.

_Ok, not Yang. _The 2nd was a woman with tied up blonde hair and…blue eyes _Close but no cigar which means._

The porcupine Faunus ripped the helmet of the last ‘grunt’ and Weiss gazed through the glyph ghost’s sight to see… another dude…

"WHAT?" she yelled out loud causing Flynt to give her an odd look and again that faint popping noise hit Weiss' ears. "This was an odd ruse but she should have been one of them unless she's still hiding in the dust cloud. But why send the men out why bother with the ruse at all?"

She was aware that she was rambling now but she didn’t care she needed to get these ideas out in the open so she could analyze them, so much of this was off.

“What are you on about Schnee?" her eyebrow twitched as Flynt's annoying voice interrupted her thinking, the Schnee comment aside she was getting tired of all his shortness with her. "What's going on why are you just sitting here asking me random ass questions?"

“If you must know specialist Coal” she shot him an icy 1 eyed glare. She gestured to the closed eye. “I can see through the eyes of my summons if I’m not TOO distracted and I’m scouting for Yang!”

Again the popping noise crept into her senses and she felt her concentration falter once more. 

“AND WHAT IS THAT NOISE?” Weiss looked up into the towering smoke and dust cloud and saw something off with the cloud’s shape there were little circular ‘bubbles’ throughout and then she heard the popping noise again so distant but this time it seemed farther off and coming from the south. Weiss looked up and southwards and far in the air she saw Yang Xiao Long soaring high through the air being propelled by Ember and with each explosion came that subtle popping noise. She’d rocketed herself up the tower of smoke then shot herself southwards.

_Clever._

* * *

**Two Years ago**

She felt like passing out, she felt like vomiting, she felt like she’d just eaten a bear’s worth of meat and yet felt nowhere near full. Mostly though she felt THEM around her, in the woods and the trees, under the ground just around her in general. And yet she didn't feel afraid of them, or angry at them or much of anything really. She looked back on the corpse only to see it finally dissolve into nothingness but then her gaze traveled to the red and black organ still pulsing in her hand.

_The heart_

The heart was an utterly hideous thing it was a black organ covered with glowing red veins with bits of hair growing in strange places. In short, it looked exactly like she expected the heart of a Grimm to look. It hadn't dissolved, it wasn't even smoking she just looked at it feeling it calling to her. It called to her about halfway through her 4th bite and she’d torn apart the creature to get her hands on it and now it murmured in her head as she held it in her hand.

_Why didn’t you vanish with the rest of it?_

Even the pieces she’d eaten had dissolved as she consumed them, they vanished in her throat, while she chewed and at certain points within her stomach. But not this. And that was only a small portion of today’s weirdness, the Grimm had backed off since she started eating, she thought they’d take this opportunity to attack while she was wrapped up in this morbid task and yet they hadn’t. They were there she knew it but they hadn’t interfered since the first bite.

_And why am I not freaked out by this _she thought, looking to the glowing eyes in the woods, she looked down at her own hands stained in red and black _probably cause I should be freaking out over what I just did._

The Ursa had tasted awful, truly wretched and disgusting but after the third bite and as soon as she heard the beating she couldn’t stop herself and just kept eating. Grabbing her scroll Yang dialed the only contact she’d bothered to keep in **Raven**. The phone rung only once.

“Hello” came out cold and quiet

“Mom…” Yang replied but her voice sounded sluggish like she was sick. “I need a pick-up”

_Dust I sound like a child in kindergarten._

"Are you alright?" the coldness left and there was a real worry in her voice but something prevented Yang from being surprised to hear this much emotion out of Raven. "Have you done it?"

"Just the heart left, need to get to the forge" Yang wasn't sure why she'd requested that last thing but like the Grimm that weren't attacking, the heart maintaining itself and her uncontrollable hunger Yang couldn't make herself concerned over those facts. It was as if a wall had been built in Yang’s mind that stopped her from being concerned over these things, it didn’t prevent her from thinking about these things but it did prevent her from worrying.

“I know I’ll be right there” Raven spoke over the phone as Yang sat in the dirt just gazing into the heart. Suddenly the aura around her forefinger split off from her and gently brushed against the heart.

_Uhoh _Yang thought as she watched the transparent finger caress the heart before blowing away in the wind. She looked into the woods to the surrounding Grimm to their yellow eyes in the far woods and she heard whispers filtering into her ears. The words were in a language she didn’t understand and sounded harsh, discordant but deep within there was something else… singing.

The singing didn't add order to the discordance no it seemed to feed the chaos, encourage it even. The voice behind the ethereal song was calm yet aggressive, speaking lovingly yet encouraging hate and Yang found it almost hypnotic. The song seemed to quiet as Raven's portal hummed next to Yang and Raven looked down on her from behind the mask. Raven extended her hand towards Yang, she took it and let herself, in her haze, to be led through the portal back to their canyon base.

Yang stumbled to the ground as the wear and tear of the fight seemed to hit her all at once, then her mother’s voice cut through the intense soreness.

“Yang” Yang looked back to her mother still wearing the mask. “You need to finish it” and she nodded towards the heart still gripped in Yang’s hand. The hunger was still inside her and as she brought the heart to her lips she felt that niggling feeling at the back of her head.

_This is disgusting, this is unnatural. Stop this Yang there is clearly something wrong with what you are doing. This is clearly wrong._

The thoughts beat back the hunger and she froze there Jaw open to bite down. Maybe she could come back from this, maybe she could just quit it now maybe the headaches and the heartache would just stop bothering her with time and… **I want to believe you. Yang, you need to come back. Huh crazy then. I'm sorry Yang! She sold you out, Yang.**

**I think the red eyes suit you.**

Yang’s heart hammered in her chest like a beating drum as the mother of all migraines threatened to break her skull in two. She grabbed her hair and pulled it. She shrieked into the air, something was laughing somewhere in the world and after a gasp for air Yang lunged forward and bit down on the pulsing heart.

It was somehow hairy and slimy all at the same time with chunks of fat and gristle in random places throughout. And it wriggled. But despite how disgusting it tasted and how disturbing it felt going down as soon as she swallowed the first bite the headache calmed, her memories seemed quieter and her mania died down slightly. Yet still, they were there so she kept eating.

The second bite was bizarre, with it she suddenly became aware of a scent on the air faint unknown yet strangely familiar. As she kept eating the scent became thicker and it became easier to recognize, it became crystal clear when she smelled iron in her nose and knew it was anger. Her eyes were instinctively drawn towards the direction of city of Vale, it was reeking even from here all the emotions her father warned her about; hatred, anger, sadness and the most overpowering stench Apathy were coming off Beacon in waves.

Yang fell to her knees and retched, out of her poured a black viscous liquid that as soon as it hit the ground swirled into spiraling artistic shapes. For a moment all she could do was kneel and watch as the black goo changed shape again and again and again forming intricate designs usually depicting disturbing imagery from Yang’s past. Her breaking Mercury’s leg, her and Blake in the jail cell, her after Summer’s death and finally her alone in her room the day Qrow had been forced to save them. Hatred, Anger, Sadness, and Apathy.

Yang had to get it out, she looked toward her mother and saw apprehension, regret, and greed hovering around her like an aura. When her eyes locked on the Grimm mask a calmness struck her a feeling of _rightness no that’s not it… _Yang shook her head _Connection that’s it._

“..forge" the word came out of her mouth slowly as if it had to move through the slime. Licking her lips Yang found that she wasn't too far off, the goo had fallen out of her mouth and had coated her chin her neck and down her chest, she felt it clinging to her, holding onto her, pulsing as she struggled to stand up on shaking legs. "forge”

Raven gave her a small nod before gesturing to the lit forge outside their base home Liquid steel already swirled in a crucible. Yang reached out for the liquid metal when Yureru shot out to block her path, she shot her mother a confused look.

“Finish it” came Raven’s voice from behind the unreadable mask. Yang looked down to her hand, there was still a bit of Grimm heart in it a little bit of gristle still pulsing and beating in her palm. She lifted the last sliver to her mouth and swallowed the disgusting meat whole.

She felt nothing new, Yureru was removed from her path and Yang set herself up against the forge and as she reached for a hammer and tongs she saw a ghostly golden version of her arm split off from her real arm and reach into the forge. _Oh no_

And that was when IT hit her. Yang could feel her adrenaline hit her harder than she’d ever been hit before, strange sensations ran through her one after another seeming to come from some exterior force she couldn't see or understand but with each feeling, the same drive and desire was nailed into her skull further. **Forge me out!**

Letting out a roar Yang focused all her aura into her arms and dipped them into the swirling liquid steel. She didn’t know why she was doing this but it was a hell of a rush and she couldn’t stop herself at this point. Dust she didn’t want to stop herself. Black tears dripped from her face, the goop drooled out of her mouth into the steel and Yang suddenly felt a will pushing back on her.

“Picture it in your mind Yang, will it together” Raven spoke to yang voice calm and soothing but she was far away and Yang was on her task.

She knew what she wanted and as she pictured it in her mind the black tears and goo seemed to torment the metal into solidity and then into the right shape. Her fingers wrapped around something in the liquid inferno and she pulled it out, it was almost the right shape curved like a bowl and bone white.

_Good but not finished_. She lifted it into the sky with one hand pulled the other back and struck the metal with her fist. Sparks flew off the blow and she saw the shocked looks of the crowd in them. Again and she saw Ozpins look of pity. Again was Blake’s disbelief. The images seemed to fly away with the sparks as she struck.

Grabbing the mask with both hands Yang focused the aura to her forehead. **BAM** then Ruby’s betrayal. Yang laughed as she pulled her head back ignoring the scent of burning hair and full force slammed her head against hot metal giving it its final touch.

Her aura shattered and Weiss’ love danced on the wind.

Yang let the mask drop and collapsed to the ground feeling exhaustion, sickness and blunt force trauma dragging her mind into some deep dark abyss. She looked at her work and saw the face of an Ursa staring back at her. Yang looked into it, It looked into Yang and as she fell into unconsciousness Yang knew she loved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really need to commission art for the Grimm heart scene. Hope you liked the chapter leave a Review if you can


	19. Mending Wounds and Breaking Points

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang recovers Raven opens up

**Raven**

_Hold it together Yang._

Raven could only watch as her daughter shivered in the bed, eyes constantly fluttering, her sweat coming out viscous and black throughout. Yang’s clothes had quickly become soaked by the slime and Raven had been forced to peel her daughter’s ruined huntress attire off of her before settling her into a bed. Raven couldn’t help but note how light Yang felt in her arms as she shivered from the Grimm heart’s effects. The black goo hadn’t let up in the days since she'd eaten the heart, spilling forth since then and already she’d been forced to change the sheets 8 times due to the black sweat.

Yang was averaging about 2 sheets per day with no end in sight. Her Aura was coming back in spurts throughout her sickness and occasionally her hair would ignite in ghost flames that would burn away the black goop sweating from Yang’s scalp. Raven chuckled as she remembered how her own hair had been so saturated with that sick liquid that she could’ve cracked it in half.

_It was near impossible to rinse out_. Her smile faltered as she remembered her own Hunt, how she’d almost been killed and what she’d been forced to do to survive. But survive it she did and Raven knew Yang would as well. _You’ll survive this Yang._

Bringing up a towel Raven wiped away the sweat from Yang's face and forehead. Suddenly Raven leaned forward and kissed Yang's forehead before resting her own forehead against it.

“You did great Yang” she whispered to her daughter “I’m proud of you”

“M-m-mu-mom?”

Raven jerked back from Yang, eyes wide in surprise and slight embarrassment. When she looked down at her daughter she was treated to a sickly grin. Her teeth were still chattering as she attempted a toothy smirk and she let out a weak laugh that annoyed Raven. _Dust, she's just like Tai._

“he-heheh Fu-finally got you ta s-s-say it” Yang gloated through shivering teeth. Raven half considered scolding her daughter, telling her she’d misheard and this was a fever dream, but why bother hiding from Yang. She’d more than proven herself.

"Yes Yang I'm proud of you," she said dryly as she readjusted her chair and continued to dab her daughter's head with the cloth. "You fought well, succeeded in your mission to forge a mask of your own. Why wouldn't I be Pr-“

Raven froze in her response Yang’s eyes were pouring out black tears and yet she was looking at Raven with a mixture of sadness and joy on her face. The sight had caught Raven off guard and a small part of her wondered if Yang might attack her.

“Yang?” Raven asked tentatively as Yang reached up and wiped away tears with the back of her hand. “Are you alright?”

Yang gasped in a shuddering breath before smiling at her mother. “I’m fu-f-fine m-mom it’s ju-just… I’ve always wu-wanted to h-h-h-hear you s-s-s-say that”

Again Raven felt the urge to shoot her down, to throw out a snarky response, to say how such desires are a weakness and all these things she would have done were it anyone else. But Yang was her daughter, the daughter she’d been forced to leave behind, but still her flesh and blood. _A part of me will always regret leaving you behind._

Raven leaned forward and kissed Yang's forehead again before standing up and walking towards the kitchen. "You'll still need your rest, but if you're awake it means the worst has passed. I'll find you something to eat alright?"

Yang started to push herself up on shaking arms when Raven shot her a look that alone brokered no argument, it was the best Glynda Goodwitch impression Raven had in her arsenal of glares. Sure enough, Yang simply nodded and sunk back down into the bed to shiver and try to get back to sleep. Closing the kitchen door behind her Raven started to gather ingredients when her scroll buzzed in her pocket. She felt a twinge of annoyance at its pulsing and that only turned to anger when she felt it buzz again. It was a call. She didn't need this right now, Yang needed someone to watch her while she recovered and they were finally bridging the gap between them. But Raven was a professional and a professional doesn't leave possible clients hanging like this.

Bringing the scroll up to her ear she waited in silence for the person on the other end to make the first move.

“I saw you at Beacon the other day” came a voice slightly slurred by drink. _Qrow_ she thought with a sneer. "Ozpin doesn't appreciate you littering all over his campus, that scroll could've hit someone ya know?"

"Brother," She said in her cool faux-jovial voice, keeping it relatively low so as to not wake Yang up. "It's been so long since you've called and you want to go straight into business, you'll break a girl's heart."

“What were you doing at Beacon?”

“Just checking in on my little brother as well as looking in on Ozpin’s latest abomination” She spat to avert the evil of what she saw Qrow escorting that day. "Tell me is Ironwood proud of his new monster or has he finally grown a conscience?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, she suspected he was taking a pull of whatever liquor was filling his flask nowadays. Her brother had a problem but it wasn’t Raven’s responsibility to pull him out of it… not anymore at least.

“Beacon’s still standing despite your predictions” he finally said, voice not so much filled with confidence as filled with spirits. “Ozpin hasn’t failed…” he left the ‘yet’ unsaid.

“Oh is beacon still standing” she spoke with mock surprise. “I was under the impression it was under military rule from an outside force. My mistake.”

Her brother’s standards were lacking when it came to successful benchmarks. Beacon was fallen in all but name and Raven knew it. Ozpin would get them all killed in his attempt to keep the illusion going though. That’s all Ozpin was Illusions and misdirection.

“She asked about you, you know?” that caught raven off guard and she froze for an instant. _Does he know? Is he coming to take her back?_ Raven decided to settle on saying nothing rather than give Qrow any possible clues. “She wanted to know what you were like, right after she crippled some kid and broke a soldier’s jaw.”

Raven could feel her heart rate rising at his words but she remained silent letting her brother have his drunken rant.

“She even sounded like you for a bit there, she gloated to me about beatin the kid. Then like you she ran from the consequences. She’s probably missing somewhere right now” Raven could smell the iron in her nose and feel her fingers balling up into fists.

“Why are you telling me this?” she asked through clenched teeth.

“Just thought it was obnoxious that all this crap going on is connected to her and you haven’t even asked what happened to her is all”

“No dear brother that’s not what’s obnoxious” she was letting the rage flow now. “What’s obnoxious is the fact that like every other simple minded idiot out there you thought she was crazy and you were too busy guarding your little science project to help your niece, your own flesh and blood. MY DAUGHTER! Leaving her to run off and get herself hurt or killed all for the sake of Ozpin’s mission.”

“You don’t get to lecture me on being too busy!” he shouted back. “You were never a part of her life. You don’t get to call her your daughter”

“Maybe you’re right” she sneered as she thrust the knife in. “But tell me brother how many people are you going to sacrifice for Ozpin’s cause? You’ve given him this Pyrrha girl fine, but Yang? Tsk, what would Summer say… guess we'll never know since Oz put her in the dirt too!"

Raven noticed she was shouting now but she couldn’t find it in her to care, her brother needed this wakeup call and it was a long time coming. When Qrow spoke next his voice was ice cold. “You don’t get to bring Summer into this Raven”

“Don’t I? Cause it seems like I was the only person who was trying to keep her alive” Raven felt her head pulse in anger and somewhere deep down was worried she’d break this scroll too. “And listen here Qrow, this ends today, you want a favor you buy it like everyone else. You left my little girl to the beowolves and don't even have the guts to apologize for that. Tell Ozpin I won't forget this and tell Ironwood he's a fuckin dead man"

“Raven I’m-” Qrow started to say when Raven cut him off.

“Qrow, Ozpin will toss you aside too. Know that… Oh and go fuck yourself brother” with that she hung up the scroll. A part of her felt regret over cutting off her brother but another part felt like it was inevitable. Qrow was a fool and if he was happy being Ozpin’s plaything then she couldn’t afford to remain attached to him any longer.

Raven felt a tear run down her face, she reached up and flicked it away, at the end of the day Qrow was still her idiot brother, her family and she would want to pull the idiot out of whatever pit he threw himself into next. This was too far though, putting himself in danger was one thing but standing by while Yang was thrown in prison and calling her crazy was another. Qrow could look after himself, Yang needed her now.

* * *

**Qrow**

Qrow just stared at the scroll in his hands letting the shock just hit him. Raven had just cursed him out, she’d hadn’t just gotten angry she’d pressed a very sensitive nerve and shouted into the scroll. She’d threatened Ozpin and promised Ironwood death. Heck Qrow never really liked the guy but even after the past few weeks, he'd never wished that on him. And to top it all off she'd just disowned him.

_And she’d been right to do it_ he thought unable to take his eyes away from the scroll. Being told he was an idiot by Raven was one thing, she’d been doing it since they were kids but getting that when Raven was in the right was just surreal. **_Left my little girl to the Beowolves._**

Suddenly the elevator dinged knocking Qrow out of his morbid thoughts, as the door opened he was greeted with the familiar image of Ozpin’s office. Oz was sat behind his desk, Ironwood was looking out the window at complete attention and Glynda was standing at Ozpin’s side.

_They look like an old painting_ he chuckled to himself as he flopped down into one of Oz's couches still reeling from the shock of the phone call.

“Report” Ironwood’s crisp voice cut through the silence like butter. A twinge of annoyance ran up Qrow’s face at being commanded to do anything from Jimmy over there. So to spite him he took his time unscrewing the top of his flask and taking a deep pull from it. Partly to annoy Ironwood and partly cause he needed it. “Qrow?!”

“Raven said she was going to kill you” Ironwood spun around annoyed look on his face.

“I meant how did the maiden do in the field… wait what did you say?” And that’s when what Qrow just said punctured through his iron-plated skull and realization bloomed on his face. Heck, even Oz and Glynda looked taken aback by what they just heard. “How’d you?”

Qrow lifted his still unclosed scroll. “Just gave her a call. She’s a bit pissed at everyone in this room barring Glynda.”

“Over what?” Ironwood spoke indignation clear in his voice.

“I'll go out on a limb and say it has something to do with the recent debacle involving Ms.Xiao-long” Glynda answered, her own disdain for those proceedings clear in her voice.

“She hasn’t spoken to her own daughter in years and has been a complete absentee mother, why would she suddenly care now?” Qrow had to admit Ironwood was making sense here. Why did Raven give a crap now of all times?

"The situation was never quite as dire regarding Yang as it was following the incident" Ozpin's voice remained calm with a hint of compassion hidden beneath. "The pressure we put her under was intense… and might have ended in the girl's death. That might force even an absentee mother to take action."

The room went quiet as the idea that they’d been in some way responsible for the death of a child rested over them like a haze. **_Left to the beowolves_**.

Qrow needed to escape this line of thought, so he did what he always hated to do and followed Jimmy’s orders. “Pyrrha’s been a bit off. Not really in regards to mission performance but just a bit off in the head.”

“In what way?” Ozpin asked trying to help Qrow in his efforts to divert the conversation.

"Mood swings mostly. Her emotions just change like that" he snapped his fingers to accentuate the point "and she'll shift from calm and quiet to vindictive and cruel. Honestly, while we were clearing out Grimm she would go from quiet professionalism to… taking her time with them"

Qrow took another chug of booze as he remembered her going from strictly aiming for heads and chest areas to removing limbs and leaving legless armless things behind before finishing them off later. And he also remembered how she would shift back just as quickly.

"Those issues could be mediated with medication and a strict therapy routine," Jimmy said with a confidence no one else in the room shared. "What of her physical attributes, how has her semblance been altered? What about her Aura output?"

Qrow lifted three fingers towards Ironwood. "Besides the eyes, she shows no signs of physical changes, she's not looking more like Amber so far but that junk might change" he folded down his ring finger.

“Aura output has been greatly increased but not as much as your eggheads speculated” he folded down his index finger leaving his middle up. Ironwood was less than impressed. “we haven’t really tried pushing her semblance to see what it could do yet but it seems like she expends less aura than she would have previously” Qrow folded down the last finger and clasped his hands between his knees.

“How are her memories faring?” Glynda asked before Ironwood could get more into his science mumbo-jumbo.

“It’s coming back in bits and pieces, she seems to have trouble recognizing people, takes her a second to respond to her own name”

“Maybe reuniting her with her old team might help with that” Qrow gave Glynda a skeptical look then shook his head.

“Nah, I don’t think she’s ready to play with others. Girl tunes me out most of the time during missions” Ironwood opened his mouth to say something before Qrow cut him off. “Yes Jimmy I have a full report with transcripts and everything, Yah happy?”

Qrow reached into his pocket and pulled out a notebook filled with his chicken scratch writing and he handed the well-worn book to Ironwood who was looking at him like he had two heads. "What's the matter Jimmy afraid of low-tech?"

"No just lamenting the number of man-hours required to translate your terrible handwriting to something legible." _Oh, that was a good one by Ironwood's standards_ Qrow couldn’t help but chuckle. “Now back to the matter of your sister and niece” and with that Qrow’s chuckle died like it never should have been alive in the first place.

"What level of danger are we in? How serious are these threats?" Ironwood asked being the one most unfamiliar with Raven Branwen. “What counter-measures should be taken?”

Qrow scratched the back of his neck himself struggling with trying to predict Raven. “The problem isn’t so much how hard will she hit you but when… She’s a patient woman and she rarely forgets. I doubt she’ll try to kill you or Oz for a while yet. Not until she’s completely ready and you’re completely exposed.”

Again the room was silent except for the ticking of the clockwork. Qrow's assessment was spot on for normal circumstances but this was an event that may have led to the death of Raven’s daughter, or at least her public damnation. The circumstances were less than normal and everyone in the room knew it.

“Maybe it would be best if we were to find Raven and attempt to talk her down” Qrows eyes widened with shock as those words came out of Ozpin’s mouth. “Qrow do you think-?”

“I’m gonna stop you right there Oz” Qrow interrupted “she ended the scroll call with ‘go fuck yourself’ I don’t think she’ll be in the mood to talk to me” **Left her to the Beowolves.**

"True," Ozpin said as that sad yet all-knowing look spread across his face. Qrow knew that look and dreaded seeing it cause it usually meant someone was going to get hurt for the sake of Ozpin’s greater good. The worst part was it was usually necessary. “But you’re not the only one who might be able to talk her down”

* * *

**Raven**

Raven wasn't much of a cook, she wasn't bad or anything it's just that she never made anything really special, everything she put together was usually bland and lacking in spices. She preferred it that way her meals were always more focused on dietary needs rather than flavor. But this time she deigned to add a spice or two to the mix, in celebration of Yang’s success.

For once their meal wasn’t shared in silence. Yang managed to power through her stuttering and exhaustion all just to tell Raven every detail of her fight with the Alpha Ursa. Yang would move her hands around to help her explain what happened when, though she still lacked enough energy to be too expressive with her hands, the thought was there. Raven only spoke up to ask Yang questions or to suggest a different course of action for the next fight. And despite the subject matter, it seemed so utterly Normal. A mother listening to her daughter brag about her achievements.

"…by the third bite I started seeing some weird stuff," Yang said her voiceless boisterous than normal. "Like there was this song I could just hear and I started seeing emotions and crap"

“I saw and heard the same thing actually and with a little effort and concentration you could draw on those abilities again”

“R-r-really?” the stuttering managed to filter back in making Yang cover her mouth in embarrassment. “How?”

Raven gave her knowing smirk again, reach beneath the bed and pulled out the newly forged mask. It was a spitting image of a snarling Ursa, she set it on the bed and Yang’s eyes locked on to it. “With this. The mask is connected to you and the creatures of Grimm and will act as a totem allowing you to access the Grimm inside of yourself.”

Yang’s hand reached out and brushed against the mask, her fingers tracing the red lines in it and along the sharp fangs. Yang seemed utterly infatuated with the mask and while she held it her shivers vanished. _Watching this doesn’t seem as creepy as Summer led me to believe._

“Yang everyone has light and darkness inside them and knowing that is integral to understanding as well as utilizing aura” Raven had resumed her teaching voice and Yang was polite enough to break ‘eye’ contact with the mask to pay attention to her mother’s lesson. “after the Hunt you’ll be able to tap into the dark, into the Grimm aspects within yourself. You’ll be able to see as the Grimm see, you’ll be able to better master your own emotions in the heat of battle and draw on the Grimm's strengths should the situation become very desperate.”

Raven pulled out her own mask and set it down next to Yang’s the metal of the mask almost seemed to hum as it came near the other. Yang’s shoulders slumped as she looked from her mask to Raven’s.

"Yours is a lot more intricate than mine," she said in mock agitation her fingers skimming her mask's surface. She picked up her mask and made it give Raven's mask a peck on the forehead. "I'm proud of you too mom"

Raven gave the display a derisive snort. “It will take some time to master but I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually”

“and you’ll train me?”

“Of course Yang” Raven lifted her own mask and returned the peck to Yang’s. Yang laughed before a more sober look spread over her face. Raven just looked at her willing her to spit out what was bugging her.

“I heard you talking with Qrow” Raven cursed herself for being so loud. “Things seem pretty tense between you two”

"He's being a fool, Ozpin has him wrapped around his little finger" Raven spat Ozpin's name like a curse. "After everything Ozpin's done and he still sticks around. It sickens me, Yang."

Yang rested a hand on Raven’s shoulder, it felt warm like Tai’s had felt all those years ago and when Raven looked her daughter in the eye she saw the classic Summer Rose look. That look that said ‘Talk to me, what can I do to make things alright?’

“What did Ozpin do to you?” she asked. Raven looked away struggling for what to say. Yang let out a small chuckle. “Hey after all this I think I’ve earned one new question”

Raven shot her daughter a quick glare causing Yang to pull her arm away. Raven sighed, that action was rash and she didn’t want to push Yang away, not anymore.

“Ozpin gave us special treatment, an ignored violation here, special privileges there. I’m sure your team is familiar with this sort of thing” Yang nodded no doubt remembering the mountain Glenn debacle. “He was grooming us… well most of us. To be weapons in his own little personal war.”

Raven smiled as she remembered the old days with Summer as their leader, sure it was all for Ozpin's personal goals but it was a fun and exciting time worth remembering. "It was fun at first but then the missions became more dangerous, the collateral damage became something easier to ignore. I had to lie to people so as to not spread panic to the idiot masses. I love the fight I can live in the fight I am strong enough to not worry about the fight… when I'm alone, but I wasn't alone. I had a team to look out for, not just my idiot brother but my best friend and Tai…" Raven went quiet for a minute, near misses and close calls flashing through her head like the most anxiety building flashback possible.

"… and it was just unending Yang. The Grimm never stop, Ozpin's enemies never cease or relent and for every schemer, I put in the dirt another would just spring up to take their place. I tried to get them to just let it rest, let Ozpin find someone else to take the job anyone else. When that didn't work I told them I wouldn't be Ozpin's pawn that I wouldn't be there to keep them safe. I hoped that would've convinced them to at least request safer work." Raven wiped some dust out of her eye with the back of her hand. It was only dust nothing else.

"The only one who cut out with me was Tai. At first, I thought he did it cause he was worried about being without my protection… but no the poor bastard fell in love with me. Oh Tai” It hurt to think about Tai, but it was an ache she deserved and some part of her was glad for it. “Your father… the Martial artist, the jokester and in rare occasions the philosopher. You look so much like him Yang right down to his smile. We got out and we helped each other took the odd huntsmen contract until something just clicked between us.” Raven smiled warmly remembering that moment. “So after that, we moved to patch, got married and had you Yang”

She looked at Yang and could still picture the tiny little thing she gave birth to with tiny blonde curls of hair atop her head. This little blonde ball of weakness completely unable to feed or protect itself that represented everything Raven despised: dependence, weakness and the death of her own independence. And yet Raven couldn’t help but love her and want to keep her safe and protected. _My little girl._

"For a while I was happy, I had you and Tai, I felt safe in our little home in Patch and once every so often Summer would come back from a mission with Qrow and everything would be perfect.” Raven’s face darkened and her hands clenched into fists so hard her knuckles popped. “Then Ozpin came calling, tried to throw me back into his fight using you and Tai as leverage. I am not someone to be ordered around, I am not his slave! That idiotic simpering speech wouldn’t work on me! but I knew it would have worked on Tai. Tai was never something special in Ozpin’s eyes a great fighter, yes but I was his killer and Summer… well, Summer was special. Tai would get back in the game to try and keep us safe, and I would crawl begging Ozpin to switch our places. I'd be his pawn again. So I had to make it look like you both meant nothing to me, Like both of you were just anchors holding me down and if I was gone Tai wouldn’t be placed in danger since he’d have to look after you. So I left, played the part of the runaway wife the uncaring mother… no one really knew the truth except-”

“Mom!” Yang replied in dawning realization. “But why didn’t she tell Ozpin?”

Raven laughed remembering her last talk with Summer before she left. “She was a leader first and Ozpin’s agent 2nd. She tried to set me on another path but once she saw I was set on my decision and wouldn’t be turned from it... She kept my secret.” Raven hugged herself and felt a chill hit her, something was making her eye itch. “She was supposed to just keep an eye on the two of you, to keep you safe and to keep Tai… together.”

Raven was silent for a minute and she unsheathed Yureru and set about sharpening the weapon, it seemed like an age before she spoke again. “But Summer was never one for half measures was she? and Tai was always his damn charming self. I’m not mad at her for falling for Tai, I did the same thing. She made him happy and she treated you like you were her own. She was the best friend anyone could ask for on this blasted rock but then…”

**Yang**

Raven went silent for a minute and Yang could only stare at her back. The room was silent even the scrapping of the whetstone had stopped. Raven just sat there as Yang struggled to put all of this into some context of her life.

"Then she died" Yang's voice came out dry and cracked as memories of Summer's ‘disappearance' and what it did to her father raced back into her mind. All Raven could do was nod in response. An almost imperceptible shiver ran through Raven, so imperceptible that most highly trained huntsmen would have dismissed it but not Yang. Raven was a mountain she didn't feel cold or heat or any force of nature and her emotional barriers were second to none. So it might have just been a shiver to others but for Raven, it was the equivalent of screaming.

Reaching out Yang turned her mother to face her and what she saw shocked her. Tears were pouring down Raven’s calm and neutral face, she wasn’t sobbing or blubbering the tears just seemed to pour forth.

_The Grimm heart may have given her greater control but somethings, somethings just get through the cracks I guess_. Yang thought as she looked her mother in the eye. Raven took in a subtle shuddering breath and started to turn away, clearly uncomfortable showing this much weakness and vulnerability, even to her own daughter. Yang held her firm and pulled her mother into an embrace, Raven awkwardly held her hands at her side unsure of what to do with them.

“It’s okay” Yang spoke in a soft tone “I miss her too mom”

Raven began stroking Yang’s hair and started to hum an old song Summer would sing to Yang as a kid. Yang joined in and for a while, they held that way before parting. Raven's Aura flashed over her face and in an instant, it looked like she'd never shed a tear in the first place. _I’m gonna need to learn that trick._

**Raven**

_Dammit, Summer even here and now so long after that day, you're still doing this to me. _Raven smirked as she imagined how she would have berated her and Yang both for keeping these emotions bottled up. How she’d grab them both and shake them till all their emotions fell out, herself crying the whole time. Raven let out a snort at the image causing Yang to look at her in mild shock. It was that look of confusion that reminded Raven of why she was glad Yang had regained consciousness this day of all days.

Reaching underneath the bed Raven pulled out a box before setting it down in front of Yang. Yang eyed it suspiciously.

“What’s this?” she asked already lifting the top off the box, inside was a black tank top and matching pants, a yellow infinity scarf, a matching yellow belt and finally a Grimm style Mistralian Kimono. Yang’s red eyes glimmered as she looked at the horde of new clothes.

“After you ate the heart you were sweating out a black goo that stained your already ruined clothes, so I was forced to throw them out.” Yang lifted up the kimono and felt the material. “Everything is far more durable than your old attire and will make it harder for people in Vale to recognize you.”

Yang’s eyes suddenly widened and she turned back to face her mother. “Are we going back to Vale anytime soon?” her voice was stained with apprehension but held a hint of excitement. Raven felt the cruel smirk spread across her face, she was going to enjoy telling Yang this.

“I’ve been tracking that slime Mercury and his team that messed with your head during the Vytal Festival.” Raven reached up and poked Yang’s forehead to emphasize her point. “They’re still skulking around Vale and once you’re back to full strength we’ll hammer them together”

A cruel grin spread across Yang's face matching her mother's. "I c-c-can't w-wait" she snarled letting the stuttering come back. Raven smiled, leaned forward and kissed Yang's forehead, before standing up and heading to her own bedroom. She stopped in the door frame before turning back to Yang.

“Happy birthday Daughter mine”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song I picture Yang and Raven humming is Gold I hope you enjoyed it please leave a review! Art by Tovanori seriously commission them if you can


	20. Last Legs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dragon scratches at Yang's mind and in the past she deals with the less than savory types in her quest for revenge

_This might be a little show-boaty for someone trying to escape unseen._ Yang thought to herself as she soared through the sky southwards towards her destination. _But damn if it isn’t just the right kind of distracting._

The Air whistled past her ears as she flew through the air, taking in the whole Vacuo horizon and the bleeding red sun setting on the far distant desert. The whistling wind drowned out the hammering of the heart in her head and the call of… darker things inside.

** _Unleash the Dragon_ **

Yang shook her head, dismissing the small little desire deep inside herself. The Grimm mask curbed her regret, her fear and her second-guessing, clearing her mind as she was flung through the air southwards towards her destination; the southern Vacuo crags. Towards her mother's agent, to her escape from this darn city and from team RWB once more. She ceased firing Ember Celica behind her and quickly descended to the Vacuo roof, focusing her aura to her legs for protection and to her feet to muffle the noise of her landing. She hit the ground stumbled, turned it into a roll, righting herself quickly.

“Nailed it” she muttered to herself, she was never the most talented when it came to her landings, her semblance could take bad falls and turn them into power so why bother. As Yang looked back north from where she came she saw the towering pillar of terrible white and black smoke. She felt a nervously giddy giggle run through her as she looked at that tower and pictured all the Atlas, and Vacuo forces running to see what happened and what had caused it. It was the perfect chaotic opening she needed to get clear of here. "Almost out almost free"

Vaulting down into the alleyway, Yang retrieved one of her recent prizes: one of the atlesian military-issued scrolls. Focusing her aura to silence her footsteps and to her ears, she ran and set to work at the same time. Pulling a section off the scroll she pulled the chip from her helmet and retrieved her own scroll from her pocket. _Rushing footsteps left of us._

Stepping into a dark alcove to her right Yang waited until the footsteps passed before continuing with her work. She plugged a chip from her helmet into the scroll and attached her own scroll to the Atlesian scroll with a cable. It took a minute for the chip to crack whatever security was inside the scroll, that chip was damn expensive but in this line of work, you get what you pay for. The scroll was formatted like all Atlas tech was, woefully boring and cookie-cutter so it didn't take long for her to find the Atlesian group communication channel. _Shambling footsteps probably a drunk._

Yang didn’t even bother hiding from the gecko Faunus drunk, contenting herself to just pass the creature, trusting that he didn’t want to be bothered any more than she did.

Once he passed her and turned a corner, Yang set about completing her chaos strategy. See within Atlas strike teams there are shared scroll networks, all texts sent by one atlas scroll to the regional Atlas forces is shown as being sent by the whole of the strike team. Unfortunately, this means that if one scroll is compromised then all the scrolls within that Atlas strike team are compromised. They have countermeasures of course but those only came into effect if they recognized that something was compromised. _The trick has to be subtle._

Yang smiled as she did one small change that she knew the ‘genius' Atlas nerds wouldn't pick up on till it was far too late. All she did was make it so all outgoing messages would switch the words north and south with one another, and all messages coming in would do the same. She almost laughed out loud at the idea of it, it was almost elegant. Pocketing all scrolls and chips she reset her focus and bolted southwards, she had an opening now and she couldn’t miss it.

* * *

**Weiss**

“What do you mean she broke half your scrolls, someone find me a working one” Flynt shouted down in a cracked voice, at the few conscious Atlas grunts milling about the explosion site. He was yelling right next to Weiss and it was doing nothing to help alleviate her growing headache. “Regional commanders need to be informed of where the target is heading right now! I need a working scroll YESTERDAY!”

"Could you please turn it down I'm trying to think?" Weiss said with a grumble, maintaining her summons had eaten a bit of her aura and the viewing ritual had given her a slight case of dizziness. Neither of which was helping her mood. But she wasn't so dizzy as to miss the glare Flynt shot her. Though she couldn't find the energy to muster up a haughty smile she did look him in the eye with an unflinching gaze. "Oh and thanks for reminding me”

Pulling out her own scroll, no sooner had she gotten to Ruby's name in the contacts than a torrent of red rose petals poured past Weiss' vision. When the petals dissipated all that was left was her red hooded leader crescent rose in her hands, locked in its sniper form. Her gaze was traveling up and down the pillar of smoke before her.

“Hey Weiss” was all she said as she looked down into the destroyed warehouse.

"Ruby" Weiss loudly swallowed. On top of the dizziness and general exhaustion, she felt great shame. She'd allowed Yang to get inside her head and mess with her, she allowed her emotions to cloud her judgment and… well, she made out with her partner's sister. As high school as that was it still seemed like something you weren’t supposed to do, especially when said sister was also a fugitive.

“Which way did she go Weiss?” Ruby asked her voice devoid of its usual upbeat energy. The hairs on the back of Weiss’ neck started to stand up and she could feel Ruby’s energy coursing through the air itself.

Before Weiss could open her mouth the speak Flynt stepped between her and Ruby. “Ruby you can’t go after her alone. I don’t care how tough you are we need to wait for back up to arrive and for the Atlas-Vacuo forces to pin her in a position and then”. Before he could finish his sentence Ruby shot him a look with her silver eye glowing brightly.

Weiss had been Ruby’s defacto guardian for the last 2 years, dealing with bullies, helping keep her together mentally and helping her deal with the isolation that came from being a part of a fractured team. She protected Ruby but there were few moments where she knew, not feel knew, that Ruby was not someone who needed protection. Right now Weiss was more worried about Flynt’s safety than Ruby’s.

“I.. Uh.. you..” Flynt stammered in a shocked voice as he found himself unable to break eye contact with Ruby’s glowing silver eyes.

“Weiss” Ruby’s voice cut right to Weiss’ ears. “Where did Yang go?”

“Southwards, though-” Ruby’s gaze snapped to her and though there was no aggression in her gaze like there was when she looked at Flynt, but there was an impatience. “-though you need to know she’s changed her fighting style slightly, she will mention things to throw you off your game. Personal things”

The glow behind Ruby’s eyes faded and she let out a sigh. She knew her emotional state was vulnerable especially when it came to Yang. She took a few deep breaths before speaking. “I’ll need your summons to help me then. So long are you’re not too tired.”

"I'm not too tired Ruby" Weiss replied putting on the soft smile that she knew helped keep Ruby calm. "How was Blake?"

“She’ll be fine the medics are on the way.” Ruby gave Flynt a quick glance. “She was hoodless when I found her though”

Weiss had to stifle a sharp intake of breath. If Blake had been seen in such a state, there might be an issue or two they’d have to deal with. Blake being a Faunus wasn’t too big of a deal but her HIDING the fact she was a Faunus would be. _I knew that would bite us in the ass eventually_.

“…she’ll be fine” Ruby muttered almost under her breath as she again gazed at the tower of smoke. “You said she was headed that way right?”

Ruby shot a finger southwards before bring Crescent Rose's scope up to her eye and scanning the rooftops.

“That’s the direction we saw her heading, yes”

Ruby lowered her sniper and gave Weiss an almost pitying look. “How many summons do you think you could manage Weiss?”

Weiss blew out a breath, maintaining the 4 she did hadn’t been the easiest task and the sight ritual had made it even more taxing, she still had aura reserves leftover but she knew she couldn’t push it.

“Depends” she finally spoke forcing a perfectly professional attitude on herself. “3 if I remain here and control them from afar. 1 if I join you in the pursuit”

“Wow wow wow” Flynt’s voice cut in. He’d stepped closer to the two huntresses but was smart enough not to stand between them, he had a fresh scroll in his hand. “This is an Atlas case, you don’t have the right to just vanish off after our target without an Atlas supervisor present”

Weiss felt a pang of annoyance overtake her as she looked, specialist. _This is a waste of precious time_. Gently she massaged the bridge of her nose to calm herself before addressing Flynt.

“Flynt we don’t have the time to waste on this stupid jurisdiction crap-” Weiss began when he raised his scroll in front of her.

"I have Atlas confirmation they're moving towards her position, I've bought you time," he said with a sneer reveling in how he'd one-upped Weiss. "Time for you to-"

He too was interrupted as Ruby, silent as the grave, unfurled Crescent Rose spun it at an ungodly speed and slashed it right at Flynt's neck. Weiss barely had a moment to flinch it was so fast, and as quickly as it had moved it had stopped just as fast. The Blade was stopped right on the nape of Flynt's shivering neck.

“And which one of your squad is going to join us Coal?” Ruby asked no malice in her voice whatsoever, no all her malice had shifted to her eyes which were glowing so hard you couldn’t see her pupils. She moved Crescent rose slightly and Flynt winced as a drop of blood was drawn from the back of his neck. "You're low on aura and without a weapon, your squad is half beaten to death and frankly not in our league. So who do you suggest goes with us?”

“I’m free” came a gruff voice from behind them and Ruby’s gaze shifted to the Atlas specialist that had been partnered with Flynt coal, his already worn armor was even more dirt stricken now that he’d pulled himself out of an explosion. “I still have aura reserves and can keep pace. Sides I feel like I just sorta stood there when yer sister was pounding my crew.”

Weiss winced at the sound of his accent, he had the guttural dialect of Atlas mining families and the man was built like an ox. The segmented sword at his hip briefly touched Weiss' curiosity, but besides that, he just seemed like an above average brute of a soldier.

“Sides” he spoke again with that gruff accent “The longer we spend talkin the further away she'll be. Regardless of what back up, Flynt has coming our way. Best if we moved now"

With that, he sprinted towards the southern edge and flung himself off it to the street below. Ruby looked to Weiss. 

“Come with me. You might be able to calm her down” she whispered quietly before disappearing in a cloud of petals. Weiss took a deep breath set her hand down and summoned her knight smaller than he usually was but still her knight. Before she launched off, she pulled out her scroll and sent her constant location to both teams JN_R and SS_N. Suddenly a feeling took hold of Weiss’ insides like a geist had infected her somehow, she felt dark eyes watching her and she was suddenly aware of a dark fact. _This is going to go horribly wrong._

* * *

**Ruby**

Ruby was unhappy for the company. That wasn’t usually the case, she usually enjoyed the company of everyone she worked with, though they often didn’t enjoy hers. Hell, it wasn't even because this guy was with Atlas, she could tolerate Atlas personal and even Atlas specialists when the situation demanded it. Not here though, not on this mission and not after this target.

Hopping to a water tower she gazed through her scope scanning every alleyway she and every corner looking for any signs of Yang. Each sweep took her about 5 seconds and then she'd speed away to the next vantage point and scan again. And everywhere she went her hanger-on would struggle to keep up.

_Atlesians are a tenacious bunch that’s for sure_. She thought bitterly as she watched the up-jumped grunt fling himself from rooftop to rooftop scanning the alleyways as he went. It clearly took every ounce of the specialist's not inconsiderable muscles to keep up with the high-speed huntress.

"And you're sure we have back upcoming?" she asked keeping her apprehension over accepting Atlesian backup as much from her voice as possible.

"Yes," he had to pause as Ruby sprinted to her next sweeping point. _Still nothing. _"We told all units in the nearby area that she was heading south of our position and they confirmed they would be sweeping through that area."

_Dammit, that doesn't give me and Weiss much time does it._ Atlas didn’t have jurisdiction here in Vacuo but things were getting to the point that Atlas didn't care where they did or didn't have jurisdiction. To them, Yang was their fugitive and their personal embarrassment. _But she’s my sister._

Ruby's moody introspection was interrupted by Weiss and a normal human-sized Glyph-knight sprinting past her view jumping from roof to roof scanning through the alleys. Speeding up to catch up with her partner and further distance herself from their hanger-on. Weiss stopped in her mad scanning turning to face Ruby slightly breathless from her sprint.

“What’s the plan?” Ruby lifted her sniper and scanned the horizon, they were nearing the city’s southern edge and even though everyone had told Ruby that a solo trek through the desert was suicide, she knew that Yang would only see that as a challenge.

“Ill sprint ahead and get a quick scope of the area. You and your knight follow after me with more precise sweeps focusing on any possible escape avenues she might have taken or if she changed her escape direction.” She quickly gestured towards where she expected Weiss and the knight to position themselves “If she doesn’t know about atlas closing in she will soon and when that happens she’ll get desperate. We’ll need to try and keep her calm. Got it!?”

Before Weiss could nod the heavy breathing specialist approached “Wait what do you want me… to… do? Dust so much running!”

"Whatever you want," Ruby said with an annoyed tone before sprinting quickly down the rooftops making inhumanly fast sweeps and scans desperation itching at the back of her head.

_This can’t be sloppy it’s not allowed to be sloppy. I need to find her before they do._

Ruby’s worries lessened slightly s she took stock of her situation. She had her partner with her and even if Yang might not listen to Ruby she knew that with Weiss’ help they could reach their wayward teammate. Hell, even the encroaching Atlas forces might work in their favor, if Yang feels there no way out she may reconsider fighting them. May being the operative word, so if Ruby had to play the Atlas card she could. She hoped it wouldn't have to come to that though.

* * *

**Yang**

_Just a little further. _Yang’s legs were screaming as she sprinted through the Vacuo back-alleys towards the city’s edge. She’d pumped a majority of her Aura into her legs and the soles of her feet, being sure to silence her rapidly falling footsteps. She sprung from shadow to shadow as she went only occasionally looking back. Sure she’d gotten the Atlesians off her tail, their correspondence on the scroll network showed that sure enough. _But that still leaves Weiss._

Conflict itched in her head at the thought of Weiss being the one to bring her in or trying to bring her ‘home’ whatever that meant. Yang knew how this would go; team RWB would grab her, Ozpin would do what he did best and use words like “greater good” and “Panic” and team RWB would have no choice but to hand her over to Ozpin for ‘Protection’. After that Atlas would threaten conflict unless Yang was given to them to balm their humiliation. _And for his precious peace Ozpin would acquiesce to their demands, to keep atlas forces helping Vale if nothing else._

Once in Atlas hands, Yang knew it would either be the cage or the chop_. Honestly, I'm not sure which I'd prefer._

So throwing herself into Weiss’ arms weeping for forgiveness and shouting how she’d been redeemed by Weiss’ love was not a scenario Yang could entertain. As disgustingly fairytale as that would have been Yang knew it was impossible. _Not really my kind of ending either. _But so long as Yang kept up her pace and got to the pick-up location in time she knew Weiss wouldn’t be able to catch up with her.

_Snow angel just doesn’t have the speed._ And Yang didn’t have the Aura for a fight. **_Unleash the dragon_ **Whispered in her ear again as she felt her aura again decrease. She shook the thought away as she saw the buildings give way to a great dessert. She stepped out of the dark alleyway and right onto a dune of sand. Tapping a button on her scroll she breathed a sigh of relief, the Evac was on its way, Atlas was in the wrong place and Weiss was too far behind to catch up in time. Yang was almost out.

And then a rose petal fluttered past Yang’s Vision and the rumble of the Dragon echoed in her head.

* * *

**Past **

It was strange being back in the city of Vale. Yes, she was technically within the kingdom's borders the whole time but being in some backwater, box canyon is very different from the social hub that bordered Beacon Academy. For the first time in Yang's life, she felt like a stranger here. Even when her dad and Summer had taken her here when she was a tiny child and Ruby was bouncing around inside Summer just waiting to be born, Yang felt like she could live here. Her parents treated the place like home and assured her that this was a safe place to be, and the feeling had stuck.

Now though, she felt like an outsider sneaking in. At any moment she might be noticed, any second now she’d be recognized for who she really was and the whole chase would start up again.

And Yang couldn’t deny how the danger excited and thrilled her.

_And thanks to this guy._ She gently traced her fingers along the Grimm mask and smiled. _I won’t be recognized and I’ll be able to keep all the junk in my head in check._

The Grimm mask wasn’t the only thing that would keep people from picking her out of a crowd, her whole ensemble had changed, the kimono hid away the noticeable scars and her black tank top hid away her bust, no doubt her most defining physical feature. _Most of my wanted posters were probably more focused on my boobs than my face._

She let out a snort at the idea and looked down at her wrists, to the New Ember Celica she’d forged from the leftover Grimm metal. Like her mask, they were white and red, slightly thinner than her previous models though she'd tested them prior to coming out here and found that despite their thin material they were more durable than ever. Only when she wore them again did she realize how much she missed the weapons. Ember Celica was a part of her they were an extension of herself. And like her, they'd undergone a great change.

Yang let out a breath as she sat down on one of the stone benches throughout what used to be Vale southern marketplace. The place had become unpopular since the Grimm incursion during her first semester, a Grimm incursion that she was a part of stopping thank you very much. Now only a few loyal patrons made use of the market's shop any more.

_Everyone loves yah until it’s inconvenient_. She thought with a sneer, as she looked through the helmet at the shop owners knowing they felt the same as she did. She was having fun fiddling with these new abilities despite feeling a bit voyeuristic when she used them. Her curiosity usually beat that doubt down real good. People were tense, people were stressed, people were filled with lusts and she could sense it all in one form or another if she focused enough, but more than anything there was an overwhelming feeling of Apathy throughout the kingdom. They were all one bad mission away from the Grimm breaking in and going on multiple murderous rampages and everyone just accepted it.

Apathy was not as enticing to Grimm as panic was and it's almost because of this giving up attitude that Vale had been spared the worst a Grimm incursion could bring. Yang's eyes traveled to where a great hole had once been and remembered it spilling forth a torrent of Grimm. Goodwitch had fixed it up nicely so that you couldn’t tell it’d ever been broken but as Yang sat there staring at it she could almost see them clawing away at the tunnel’s walls.

_You’re just waiting aren’t you, waiting for the right moment._

Suddenly a girl came by and sat down next to Yang an ice cream cone in her hand. Yang slowly turned her head to look at her. On closer inspection, the ‘girl' looked to be about 16 or 17 just short but she was wearing girlish black and white dress with tons of frills that matched the ice-cream on her cone. The girl stared at Yang with a pair of dark eyes. Then she blinked and Yang was forced to resist the urge to flinch away as the girl's eye's shifted to bright pink in an instant and with another blink, they shifted back.

“Neo” Yang let out a low growl as the girl sneered up at her and Yang could taste the contempt. Yang felt like unfurling her new gauntlets to give them one more test, a practical test.

_Remember what mom said._ She thought to herself her inner voice mocking and annoyed. _No fights… yet_

That ‘yet’ kept her anger at bay and she looked towards the small girl who was giving her a look of impatient curiosity. Yang let out a sigh before putting on the tone she always put on when dealing with underworld types, like junior and his cadre of weirdos.

"A friend and I are looking to hire your services" Neo's eyebrow raised in disbelief clearing suspecting a trap. Yang tried to brush aside the suspicion with a wave of the hands "Come on girl you've seen the news lately I'm an outlaw same as you"

Yang sounded sadder than she’d originally intended with that last bit and the smug look the tiny ice-cream girl was shooting her was not helping those feelings. So instead she gave the little psychopath a big toothy hungry smile. A nearby man on a park bench glanced, saw the smile then quickly looked away. Yang could feel a tiny beating seed of fear somewhere inside Neo and she smiled inwardly, she’d gotten her to.

“We can’t talk here” she paused humorous realization hitting her. “Well I can’t talk here too many people watching”

Neo looked around the shopping center before nodding. Neo jerked her head in the direction of a nearby alleyway before she unfurled her parasol and skipped right towards it. Yang thought she resembled some little girl in the darker fairy tales she used to read to Ruby at night. Those fairy tales usually ended with the girl being eaten by a beowolf.

_But this kid is more of a wolf than a little girl._ Yang thought as she followed. Yang kept her eye on the parasol and memories of their last fight flitted in and out of her mind as she watched neo twirl the hidden weapon around and around her finger as she walked deeper and deeper into the alleyway.

Suddenly Neo ripped a long thin blade from her parasol turned around and thrust the weapon right towards Yang’s face. Yang didn’t jerk her face back instead she squatted low and swept out her leg trying to sweep Neo’s feet out from underneath her. The ice cream girl jumped and her black and white attire shattered away revealing the pink, white and brown assassin Yang knew and dreaded. She cartwheeled away from Yang. Yang felt the urge to rush her as she was cartwheeling but stamped it down.

_Think like mom keep it together focus on the job_ she intoned as she viciously kicked the little serial killer in her mind. Yang knew this showboating was meant to draw out the exact type of reaction Yang was considering, so instead Yang just stood and watched the girl’s head over heels spinning come to a stop.

Neo turned and raised her eyebrow at Yang, clearly impressed by the blonde’s patience. As quickly as it had been drawn Neo sheathed her small sword into her umbrella. Yang lifted her mask from her face and gave Neo a stone-cold look.

“You finished?” Yang asked keeping her tone neutral.

Neo nodded in response smiling as she rested against the alley’s filthy wall.

“How important is Torchwick to you?” Yang unleashed her proposal all at once. Neo’s eyes widened at the question and Yang could hear her knuckles crack as she gripped her small sword’s handle incredibly tightly. Yang would like to admit she didn’t enjoy twisting this knife but that was a damn lie, she was really enjoying this. “Your little friends haven’t done anything to bust him out yet have they?”

Neo turned her glare away from Yang trying desperately not to show her inner feelings to the Huntress. _But I can smell them already_. _Guilt, apprehension, impatience._

Yang grinned, she had the little monster pegged down.

“I’m sure you could grab him yourself if they weren’t holding you back telling you not to” Yang continued as Neo looked down at her shoes avoiding making eye contact. That avoidance was all the confirmation Yang needed. “Raven’s come to offer you his freedom in exchange for some small services.”

Confusion flashed over Neo’s face as she finally looked toward the blonde bruiser, though her hand still rested on the handle of her blade. Yang in response stooped down in the most condescending way and looked neo right in the eye.

“The way Raven tells it, your bosses plan floundered over the last hurdle am I right?” Neo made no movement of confirmation and yet made no action to deny it either. “And I’m sure she’s been more pissed off than usual and seems far more riled than you or Torchwick would have expected.”

Finally, Neo did nod albeit hesitantly. Yang pushed her mask back and gave Neo a gentle comforting smile that she usually saved for when Ruby was upset. She also put a sway in her hips as she walked towards the tiny assassin, the same sway she'd subtly do around Weiss. Comfort and seduction all in one.

"So you guys bet on the wrong horse? Luckily this wrong horse isn't as all-powerful as she makes herself seem. Ditch her, side with Raven and Raven will keep you and Torchwick out of the fire and free.”

Neo’s eyes almost sparkled as Yang spoke and Yang knew she had her hooked. The tiny psycho took a step toward’s Yang and extended her hand. Yang reached towards the hand but as she touched it the hand crumbled like glass and before she knew it Neo’s hands gripped the sides of Yang’s face and pulled her down into a rather inexperienced kiss on the lips. Before Yang had the chance to pull away Neo broke the impromptu kiss and gave Yang a giddy crazed look.

“So Uh I take it we have a deal?" Yang said trying her best not to show how shocked she was by the kiss. Neo nodded before turning away and vanishing. Some hunger inside Yang grumbled for more but she stomped that idea down. _What did dad use to say **Never date Crazy**? Yeah, keep that in mind._


	21. Its your Blood Thats Red like Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby VS Yang

Yang turned to face her sister, she’d grown a couple inches since Yang had last seen her, the baby-fat from her face had been worked away giving Ruby a slightly gaunt look that helped accentuate her grim reaper-esque style. She was standing on the sand with Yang rather than from atop the far-off roofs.

_That was a fatal mistake_ Yang thought with her mother’s cold logic. _If she stayed up there, she’d have an advantage of range over me._

** _Release the dragon._ **

Ruby had unfurled Crescent Rose and was leaning on it just staring at Yang with her silver eyes. Yang’s fist clenched and unclenched as she watched Ruby. She wasn’t beating down the voice whispering in her ear this time, why bother? Tired as she was, she had been looking forward to this fight.

And some deeper part of her dreaded it.

“They’re coming Yang” Ruby spoke with all the confidence of stating a well-known fact. “Atlas forces are on the way”

_Oh, are they really?_ Yang kept her mirth from her face as she patted herself on the back for her little play.

“If they grab you, they’ll throw you in a cell” she glared at Yang with a pleading look buried beneath, her frustration apparent. Slowly Ruby lifted her hand towards her sister. “Come with me Yang, we’ll keep you safe”

** _S_ ** _afe**? Sa**fe is just another word for **Cage! **They’ll **lock me up! Cage the dragon!**_

Yang could hear the blood rushing in her ears and she could smell iron in her nose as Ruby’s voice was drowned out by the torrent of sounds and senses pouring into Yang’s skull and all of it was made all the louder by her knowledge that Ruby’s threat of Atlas was moot.

Yang inhaled deeply, and she could feel the dark emotions inside Ruby coming off in reeking waves. Fear, anger, regret, sadness, a tiny dash of hatred and a flood of shame.

**_So much shame it would almost spoil the meal. _**Yang took a second to savor the taste not just of the darkness within her own sister but the terrible nature of the city itself, the Grimm sense was a drug that couldn’t be matched, its only competitor was the adrenaline of a good fight. The city stank, her sister was putridly sweet with the inner darkness and it filled both Yang and the Grimm with vindication.

**_Hurting something this rotten can’t be wrong. _**The words slithered into Yang’s ear as she just stared at her sister still talking to her and she felt an itch in her right shoulder get worse with each flap of Ruby’s lips.

* * *

**Ruby**

“I miss you, Weiss misses you.” Ruby knew this was pointless, but she had to make the effort she held crescent rose in her hands grounding her to adamant reality. “I know it’s naive but please we can keep you safe or at least…”

Ruby looked up at Yang and her pleading died in her mouth. Yang hadn’t unfurled her new Ember Celica yet, but her eyes had a strange glassy look to them and seemed to be looking through Ruby instead of strictly at her, occasionally a twitch would fly through Yang’s face but that was all the emotion Ruby could see in her sister’s eyes. The Grimm mask atop Yang’s head sent a feeling of unease coursing through Ruby and she had a distant feeling that the metal mask was watching her somehow, the thing radiated menace.

Besides the mask Ruby noted how different Yang looked, her clothes weren't as attention-grabbing as before, she was as tense as a wire and her eyes which used to be a relaxing shade of lilac remained red. _What happened to you Yang? What made you so… Grimm-like?_

Ruby had heard the talk throughout beacon when it came to light that her sister had survived. Rumors spread from that revelation and every other student at Beacon had come up with some story about what the most dangerous Beacon dropout was up to next, stories about how she was a crazy hermit living in the woods or a drunkard in a slum. Then little by little some truth managed to filter its way in and when it did the stories took a darker turn.

**_She’s rabid._** They said. **_She’s a killer for hire_**. Others whispered. **_She’s a Grimm in human form_**. The most outlandish theory of the bunch whispered into Ruby’s ear by some particularly vindictive students, trying to see if they could trigger the unstable girl.

_Not so outlandish anymore_ Ruby thought, looking at the mask and the scars on her sister’s body. Ruby took a deep breath, in that instant Ember Celica unfurled and Yang was springing towards her, arm pulled back. Her training and semblance took over and as Yang’s fist crashed into the sand where she once stood, Ruby was already out of her sister’s reach.

Ruby was unfazed, she expected this after seeing what Yang did to Blake she knew Yang was angry. What left Ruby unnerved was the fact that Yang seemed unbothered by Ruby’s own serenity. All she did was glare at her with piercing red eyes.

“...I know you’re upset” she muttered out still trying to pull her out of the rage. “I know you think…”

“You betrayed me.” Yang’s voice came out in a hiss as her eyes remained unblinking as she interrupted her sister. Her finger shot to her shoulder to the great pulsing scar. “You shot me, Ruby”

A flicker of a grey fire escape from Ruby's eye as her silver eyes matched Yang’s crimson one, it was an easy point to press with her and used to trigger her episodes.

_Used to_

Ruby was still fragile in some places and hearing it from Yang’s mouth did grip her heart, but Weiss had warned her that something like this would happen and her guilt and anxiety were beaten down by her anger that someone she loved was trying to manipulate her. It made her eyes burn, both with tears and with her inner fire.

“Yang” Ruby started to speak when Yang’s hand lifted towards her sister and pointed at her. Ruby’s voice died at the accusing finger. That finger started to shake and shiver as it pointed towards Ruby.

“Just Shut up Ruby” her voice came out through clenched teeth and silver again met Red. Yang’s non-pointing hand was set to twitching and curled into a claw as the sound of popping knuckles could be heard. “**Y**ou **th**in**k I’**m **WEAK!”**

Yang's voice came out strangely there was the sound of some animalistic thing altering her voice as she spoke and it seemed to grasp towards Ruby. Hefting Crescent Rose almost unconsciously Ruby felt the seed of fear slither into her chest. Not fear for herself, but fear for what Yang had done.

“I don’t think you’re weak” Ruby spoke calmly, she knew the atlas forces were on the way but if they got here and saw Yang this manic, they might decide termination is better than capture. Ruby needed to take Yang down herself, secret her out of here and out of Atlas hands. Maybe Ozpin could help fix whatever was wrong with Yang. “but I need to bring you home, you’re not well”

Yang threw her head back and let out a roaring laugh. She snapped her neck to look back at Ruby and the mania was clear on her face and in her insane grin.

“**Come on sis, come and fight the Dragon”**

And with that, she rocketed forward. Firing behind herself Ruby launched over her sister and as she was carried through the air her mind furiously thought of a way to subdue Yang without hurting her further. As her feet hit the sand, she spun Crescent rose behind her and cut a shot from Ember Celica in twain, but Yang's assault didn't stop with one shell, no, she was sending a whole barrage. Ruby's semblance was once just a simple tool but over the past 2 years, she'd forged it into a more versatile state. The speed was in her arms and hands and even as rapid-fire shells came at her so too did her scythe split them out of the sky.

The blade whirled around her like a relentless hurricane and as soon as the shells stopped firing so too did Crescent Rose’s rotation cease. Yang was just stood there an impressed look on her face and her gauntlets up in a defensive position.

_I need to whittle down her Aura so I can subdue her_. Ruby swiftly loaded a magazine of low yield rounds and cocked Crescent rose loading a round into the sniper-rifle. _But a part of me still doesn’t want to hurt her._

Without warning, Yang again sprinted towards Ruby zigging and zagging as she advanced on her sister, the sporadic movements coupled with the bulk of the scythe form made it impossible for Ruby to get a bead on her sister. As the Scythe shifted to sniper form, suddenly Yang's speed increased dramatically, and her sporadic movements shifted to a direct path towards her sister.

Yang’s fist crashed into Ruby’s gut with the force of a train and Ruby was launched into the sky. Yang’s hand reached out towards Ruby’s ankle but before she could grip it Ruby sped away in a flurry of rose petals. Skidding in the sand she didn’t even allow her lack of breath to bother her instead using it to aim up a perfect shot right at the Grimm mask on Yang’s head. The bullet struck the helmet and ricocheted off it while still knocking Yang stumbling back a step. Only after the successful strike did Ruby allow herself a swift intake of breath.

“Finally!” Yang roared at her lifting her hands into the air. “You finally hit at me, I thought I was gonna be left-“

Before she could finish her sentence, Ruby unleashed a barrage of shots at her sister, striking her in the ankles, hands, and ribs before Yang adapted and swiftly ducked and rolled from the oncoming shots. Ruby might have been using the oncoming Atlas forces to intimidate Yang but she had no intention of letting them take her sister from her again. _I don’t have time for your angst, Yang._

She knew that if she kept to her strategy, she’d end up on top. Keep distance, force Yang to expend Aura through physical boosts and don’t give her a chance to talk. As Crescent Rose expelled a spent magazine and in the split second it took her to load a new one in, she saw Yang lift a red dust crystal from her pocket, right into her mouth.

As soon as the Crystal touched Yang’s mouth Ruby was aware that something was off. She could see it in the air, the air around Yang was _wrong_ somehow and she just couldn’t put her finger on what it was, it seemed to glimmer like an aura but not exactly. Ruby shook her head she couldn’t let something like this bother her she needed to keep to her strategy and look out for any of Yang’s blitz attacks. Ruby slowed her breathing just in time for Yang to give a half-hearted burst of speed right at her, Crescent Rose’s first shot hit the side of Yang’s foot right before it touched the dune, swept it out from under her and sent her sister tumbling to the ground.

Yang scrambled to her feet roaring through the crystal in her mouth, Ruby shot her in the arm and she went down again. Yang tried the other arm and Ruby shot that out too. She felt like crying watching her own sister struggling to stand up and being forced to knock her down again and again.

_Please stay down_ Ruby almost mewled to Yang but decided to keep it in her head. Almost as if she could hear her thoughts Yang’s head lifted out of the sand and she glared death into Ruby with one crimson eye. _You're not Well Yang, I need to bring you home, back to Patch and Qrow and Dad. They can help you get better._

Ruby saw Yang’s body shuddering in the dirt and she felt a cold tear drip down the side of her face and sizzle on the sand near her feet. Crescent rose began to shake in her hand.

_Stick to the strategy_ Echoed in her head. _You’re a professional, this is just another bounty mission._

_No! _Ruby thought as flashes of a deep red forest flashed through her vision. _She’s my sister and I’m hurting her again!_

“Yang…” her voice came out cracked and shuddering, her sister twitched on the sand without looking up at her. “Yang please stop, I don’t want to”

Suddenly Yang sprung to her feet. Her hair gave off little gouts of ghostly flame as she glared at her sister. Ruby clenched her teeth and racked another round into Crescent rose’ chamber, then something caught her keen eyes, heat lines were coming off Yang. It was like how the wind seemed to distort over hot asphalt, but it was all around Yang, she was burning up. Yang took a step forward and a crunching sound hit Ruby’s ears, looking down she saw that beneath Yang’s foot was glass.

_Glass?_

Yang took a deep inhale in through her nose and all her muscles flexed as she lifted her arms over her head, the ghost flames died down and the heat lines vanished for an instant. There was an eerie quietness over the dune as she held her arms there, then she flung them down and ignited right before Ruby's eyes. Fire poured out of her sister coating her arms, body, and Hair, in an instant Yang was like some elemental from the old Fairy-tales, the only thing not obfuscated by the shining golden flame was the wretched mask.

Ruby could feel the great heat for such a far distance and all-around Yang she saw the sand melt into glass, but worst of all the heat was so great that even with Aura she couldn't focus her eyes on her sister the flame was so bright. It burned to look at, though Ruby was able to make out the general shape of her sister through the blaze. That shape seemed to crouch down on all fours gripping the sand with flame-shaped talons.

She held like that for a second before flinging a storm of sand and glass into the air in front of Ruby. Unfurling her scythe as the sand swept towards her, she covered her eyes against the glass winding through the air. She felt the heat before she saw Yang, the wailing inferno that was once her sister had sprinted past the sand/glass storm and had flanked her. A flaming fist shot out and struck against the haft of Crescent Rose, though the hit was blocked the heat was unbearable and Ruby could feel her aura struggle to protect her from the licking flames. Jumping back, she fired a couple shots at Yang and struggled to regain her bearings on the sand that shifted around her feet.

It was in that moment of calm she noticed that the sand Yang had flung into the air was descending on her now, turning into glass from the intense heat and sticking to the edge of her aura. It looked like the scales of some giant rich beast.

_Yang’s not a Grimm, she’s a Dragon_ Ruby mused as her sister resumed the onslaught.

* * *

**Yang**

**_The Dragon is Free! I am free! _**_Run Ruby Run! _The thoughts ran through Yang’s mind as she struggled to deal with the intense adrenaline spike that was coursing through her right now, from the fight to the Grimm senses to the flame semblance too. Yang was on sensory overload at the moment, but like all highs, she knew it wouldn't last. Dust-semblance mixing never lasted long and while she'd trained herself to extend her time she knew that soon enough the red crystal in her mouth would be spent and she’d be stuck with her regular semblance. Not a terrible situation to be in but not optimal.

_Especially how low on aura I am._ She thought as the putrid scent of iron slag filtered through her nose. A devilish grin split through the flames. **_So Let's finish this now_**

**Remember Yang dust semblance mixing is for bringing the fight to a quick end do not neglect it.**

**_Yes, Mother!_** Yang, now a burning inferno, was relentless in her assault on Ruby. Ruby was fast, faster than she was during their sparring matches back at Beacon, she brought Crescent Rose to block Yang’s assaults each time Yang swung at her. Yet her aura was still dwindling, because with each hit blocked by crescent rose an unblocked torrent of heat would hungrily feast on Ruby's Aura.

Slowly inch by inch Yang was burning away her sister's aura, turning the fight in her favor and weakening her sister. Ruby wasn't unaware of this fact it seemed and with a huge sweep of her scythe, she forced Yang to hop back but no sooner had Yang's foot touched the sand that she was springing back in to continue the attack.

_What is she **playing**_ _at? _A twitch of annoyance ran through Yang, she had seen Ruby swirling that scythe much faster than that. That twitch turned into a roar as the realization hit her. _She’s Holding Back!_

The scythe came in for another sweeping swing, this time, to Yang’s mounting fury, with the blunt end of the scythe coming at Yang. Focusing her Aura to her palm Yang brought her arm up and caught, Crescent Rose’s haft in her hand. Ruby Froze but didn’t make eye contact with Yang, the heat was too great for that. Yang pulled the Scythe away from Ruby suddenly and as Ruby stumbled, she struck her in the face with the closed fist back of her hand.

Yang hit hard, she threw a ton of her aura into that strike and Ruby was knocked across the dune as her scythe was ripped from her grasp. Yang felt Ruby’s Aura crack under that blow but she couldn’t find it in her to celebrate, she was too angry.

“Are you a moron?!” she shouted at Ruby her Grimm voice absent from her words. Ruby looked at her confused, Yang resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she flung Crescent rose into the sand at Ruby’s feet. “The blunt end? Really?”

Yang took a menacing step towards Ruby and felt her knee give a cry of misery, she’d spent a lot of Aura and as she looked to her arms she saw that her flames weren’t as intense as they initially were. But it annoyed her so much that her sister was fighting like such an idiot, treating her like she was weak.

“Yang I-“ before Ruby could finish that word Yang had launched a shell right at her. In the blink of an eye, Ruby grabbed up Crescent rose and cleanly sliced the shell out of the air. Yang pointed at her sister and betrayer, ghost flame's licking along her arms.

“**I **want **T**ha**t **ruby,” Yang purred letting the mask envelope her again. “**Fight **me for real Ruby!”

“But Atlas-”

“**ISN’T COMING!**” Yang roared feeling bile pour through her throat “**NOW FIGHT ME!**”

A part of Yang knew what she was doing was foolish, a part of her knew she shouldn't be wasting her time with giving Ruby lessons, a part of her wanted to kill Ruby right now. But deep inside her, some part she buried deep down was excited to see how her sister had grown and wanted to see which one of them would come out on top in an all-out battle. 

And when Ruby lifted Crescent Rose, and a look of determination spread across her face, that tiny buried part sung loud.

* * *

**Weiss**

It didn't take long for the first gunshots to hit Weiss's ears, there were a ways south of her, but she recognized the sound of those shots, it was the bark of Crescent Rose. Panic and worry took her as she canceled her sweeping of Alleyways and sprinted towards the retort of guns in the distance. She neglected to utilize her aura to expedite her movements. 

_To conserve my aura_ she lied to herself as the dread began mounting in her.

Pulling out her scroll Weiss quickly called the rest of the ‘Yang hunting team’ as she ran.

“What’s going on?” Jaune’s voice came through first.

"Yeah, Atlas if flipping the heck out over here" Nora's voice cut in high and loud.

Weiss took a deep breath before speaking. “We found her, at the southern edge of the city. Ruby’s already engaged Yang we’ll need back up”

“Ooooohhhh baby I’ve been looking forward to this rematch” Weiss could almost see Nora cracking her knuckles as she spoke into the phone. “One delightful ass kicking coming up”

“We’ll be there” Ren’s Calm voice cut in for what Weiss suspected would be his only contribution to the conversation.

“Wait you said south?” Jaune spoke up over Nora’s near insane giggling. Weiss let out an annoyed breath, she didn’t have time for precise coordination. Ruby was in trouble right now and Yang was… unwell.

“Yes the southmost edge of the city, I’ll send my coordinates to you for precise details-”

“Wait” Jaune cut her off, aggravating the once-heiress even further. “Then why are all the Atlas forces heading north?”

Weiss shivered as the words reached her ears, Atlas pulling away from their target could0 only mean one of two things, 1. Atlas tech had been compromised in some fashion, meaning a robot revolt might be imminent or 2. Whoever was currently in charge of the Atlesian forces in Vacuo was about to unleash something on Yang and was making sure his forces wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire. An image of brown and green eyes flashed in Weiss’ memory and her racing feet slowed.

“Weiss?” Jaune asked fear clear in his voice, she hoped he hadn’t come to a similar conclusion as her. “Weiss!”

"Just get over here," Weiss said hoping her impatience outweighed her terror.

“Yes Ma'am" Nora replied her voice a lacking its chipper tone from before.

“Roger” Jaune replied. Weiss snapped her scroll shut and sent a command to her Glyph knight, the giant creature nodded and sprinted back amongst the alleys before returning holding the Atlas specialist by the scruff.

“Hey, Wha’s goin on?” the man said clearly unbothered by the manhandling. “we got a lead?”

It was just Weiss’s luck that a roar resounded back to them from the south. Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose before grabbing both sides of her fellow Atlesian’s head.

“Tell me are the Atlas forces retreating?” The man looked at her confused, Weiss shook his head looking intensely into his eyes. “Are we in danger heading south?”

“I don’t have a clue what yer on about?” he said with what seemed like honest confusion. “Isn’t the target down south”

“Does your commanding officer have the Fall maiden under their command?” Weiss asked digging her nails into his helmet. The specialist’s mouth dropped open and he shook his head. Weiss held him still. “Don’t lie to me, if you lie I can kill you and wring the truth from your ghost, DO YOU UNDERSTAND? IS PYRRHA NIKOS COMING?”

“No!” he shouted pushing away from Weiss with a slight shake in his step, quickly he checked his scroll for messages. “my commanders don’t have IT in their possession and I’d at least get an alert if they were deploying her. I swear that’s the truth!”

The specialist seemed exhausted, flustered and dreadfully worried but he didn’t appear to be lying to Weiss. Weiss blew out a deep breath and could feel her heart-rate decreasing. She pointed back north.

“Go alert Flynt, either your system is hacked, or they left you out on a limb. All Atlas forces are headed north not south right now." she spoke with a calm voice. She couldn't see the man's eyes but at that moment she was sure they were the size of saucers. Swiftly he nodded and began sprinting back the way he'd come.

_At least that lessens the chance of Atlas capturing Yang again_. The thought left a sour taste in Weiss’ mouth and mixed feelings flowing through her head. She tried to wave the feelings away as she landed on a roof overlooking the dunes. The sound of gunshots was now crystal clear and as Weiss ran to the edge of the roof her eyes widened at what she saw on the dunes.

Ruby and Yang were fighting tooth and nail and the sand around them was torn asunder from the efforts. Here and there were circles of glass in the sand, buck-shot holes throughout the dirt and a mini sand storm stirring around the two dueling sisters.

Crescent Rose was simply a blur as Ruby swung it around, cutting swathes through the sand stirring around her. Yang was no slouch either, her whole body was covered in an intense flame and despite the speed of Ruby’s scythe Yang was dodging and ducking beneath the great weapon. Weiss gasped as Yang slid beneath a horizontal swipe of Cresent Rose, rolled to avoid a vertical 2nd cut and grabbed onto Ruby’s ankle flipping her into the air.

As Ruby was flung into the air she paused, looked down her sights and shot right at Yang. Though Yang blocked the shot with Ember Celica she was still sent into the dirt from the force of the shot. Yang fell onto all fours right as Ruby’s foot hit the ground.

And for an instant, there was peace and Weiss released the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. That exchange had taken place over a relatively small time and Weiss' mind tried desperately to analyze everything she'd just seen.

_Ruby out play’s Yang in terms of speed but Yang’s risk-taking nature has clearly paid off since she can dodge Ruby’s swings. How the heck is Yang on fire? Ruby’s using the high yield Ammo? And… _Weiss could notice it even from this distance, there was something off about both Ruby and Yang’s stances, there was a relaxed energy between the two of them. Yang was rolling her shoulders as the two sisters stared one another down, while Ruby was hopping from foot to foot. _And why are they so calm?_

Suddenly the flames on Yang’s back intensified turning into blue jets blasting forth from her back. Ruby in response swung her scythe behind her, but before even she could move, Yang shot forward. If Weiss had blinked she would have missed it, in that split second Yang had turned into a fireball and smashed through her sister's defenses launching Ruby across the dunes, and as she sailed a resounding boom struck Weiss’ ears. Ruby hit the dirt with a befuddled look and tumbled through the sand.

Then the beeping hit Weiss’ ears. A beep not often heard by the Atlesian, but anytime it was heard filled her with dread, Ruby’s Aura was in the red. The images of lost teeth, broken knees and worse injuries flooded into Weiss’ head, along with soft lips, a soothing laugh and a smile that could just light up a cloudy day. Though conflict roiled in Weiss’ heart she knew what she had to do, so she flung herself off the roof and headed towards the fray.

* * *

**Yang**

The flames of the dragon dissipated down to nothing and Yang was left feeling, very, very tired. That Ursa lunge was always a risky move but she needed to get Ruby on the wrong foot. The girl was getting too fast for her big sis. Despite herself a grin split across her face, Ruby was no push-over dammit and she had the common decency to go into this fight expecting Yang’s best.

_And after a little coercion, she’d been willing to give me her best too._ Yang thought as she sprinted towards her quickly rising sister. She had to take this sprint slower than normal, no Aura boosts to her legs or anything, the Ursa lunge had eaten too much of her Aura and she was pretty sure that she was in the red now. _Come-on Ruby, that can't be it?_

A familiar bullet whizzed by Yang's head, and she crouched in her sprint and adjusted her position as she ran, focusing her Aura to her eyes and ears waiting for the sound of Ruby's finger pressing on the trigger. When the minute sound hit her ear, she’d instantly change her direction and keep clear of the shot. She was closing the distance fast. When she was within 5 meters of her sister, Ruby switched Crescent Rose to its scythe form and begin spinning it parallel to herself.

_What are you up to?_ Yang felt with a tinge of excitement. Launching a right-hook at Ruby’s head Yang found herself hitting only rose petals right before a wicked upswing from the scythe’s tip smashed into her chin and launched her into the Air. Yang could feel her aura shatter in that instant, firing Ember Celica behind her Yang launched herself back down to the earth barely avoiding the blunt backswing of Crescent Rose. She hit the sands on all fours and for an instant time seemed to slow down for Yang.

_I’m out of Aura. Ruby’s still got some moves up her sleeve. _Her mind was rapidly taking stock of the situation, find the best way out of the situation she was in, then the smells hit her. Iron, Aura, blood, sweat and the feeling of adrenaline pumping through her veins. The thought that she was in danger at this very moment and that she would still crawl her way out of this miserable situation she’d put herself into. _This is just what I needed._

Yang's legs kicked out and struck Ruby in the knees upsetting her sister’s fully necessary balance. As ruby fell Yang launched out a Lariat right into Ruby's face, cracking the girl's aura and launching her back a couple of steps. Yang couldn't let this moment pass, she was overloaded with energy, the mask was thrumming atop her head and she could feel the red aura flowing over her. Before Ruby could recover Yang launched an Ax kick at her sister, bringing crescent Rose’s pole up to block the strike, Ruby unwittingly played into Yang’s hands. As her heel hit the bar of crescent Rose Yang let out a roar and hooked the pole with the heel of her boot and flung the weapon downward.

Ruby, still gripping the weapon’s haft was once again flung off balance and fell right into Yang’s fist. The blow hit hard and struck Ruby in the side of the chin, shattering her aura. The blood was thumping in Yang’s head now, filled with the excitement of the danger and the excitement over her victory yet to be.

And that buried part of her saw flashes of dueling her sister on Patch. Their sparring matches where each gave the other their all and both learned from their fights.

Still reeling pack from the strike Ruby locked eyes with her sister and grinned, her teeth were tinted red with blood, much like how Yang assumed her own smile looked in that moment. This fight was exciting and fun and pushed both sisters to their limits and that look both shared for an instant said one thing: _This isn’t over till knock out._

Yang focused all her semblance power into her fist and she saw Ruby start to pull back Crescent Rose for the strike. Ruby’s eyes started flashing a bright silver as Yang’s fist launched forward.

Suddenly a Cold hand grabbed Yang’s shoulder and in sudden shock Yang whirled about and launched her strike out full force.

Weiss Schnee screamed as Yang’s fist smashed through her Aura, struck her in the face and rent a bloody gash across her cheek with the edge of Ember Celica. _Weiss!_

“Weiss!” Ruby screamed as the Atlesian was launched into the air and landed on the sand dunes in a heap. Yang froze as she watched Weiss laying in the sand, and shivered as the sand around her face started to stain. Ruby sped forward holding onto Weiss’ unconscious form.

“Shhhh-shhhhh, It’s gon-gonna b-be okay Wuh-Weiss” Ruby was a stuttering mess as she tried to comfort the unconscious girl and somehow stem the bleeding, as she lifted Weiss up Yang saw that her face was now painted with blood. _Red, so Red._

Yang reached her hand forward to, do something, anything! But as she did she flinched back, it was the same hand that’d struck Weiss and she was afraid it might hurt her again. She tried to retreat into the Grimm mask, but it could only do so much. Ruby was cradling Weiss’ head and mewling to herself trying to stem the bleeding with her cloak. Yang’s head roiled at the scene before her and she could smell her own foul emotions in that instant and every time she looked at Weiss the redness frightened her.

_Her blood, red, red like roses._

_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by shiroriette on Tumblr does good work


	22. Interlude 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Taiyang was up to 2 years ago

**Taiyang Xiao Long**

The garden had come along nicely this year, it had taken a lot of hard work and sweat but Taiyang had managed to produce what might have been his best garden yet. During the school semester he’d busied himself with every little detail gardening required; the soil’s PH value, the distance separating the seeds even the amount of water each plant received. It kept him busy in-between his lessons at Signal and writing to the girls at Beacon. All that hard work had paid off it seemed, the garden was beautiful, pristine and perfect, no flower out-shown another and they all enhanced the look of the flower next to them.

Tai stood hand on his hip admiring an entire years’ worth of work and as he lifted his beer bottle to his lips he thought to himself.

_I am 10 seconds away from burning this entire garden to the ground_.

He chucked the bottle at the side of his house and it exploded into thousands of tiny glass shards that rained into the garden like razor-edged hail. Tai took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, he didn’t even have Qrow’s excuse for why he just did that, he wasn’t drunk. Hell, he wasn’t sure he could even force himself to get drunk anymore. He was so… upset, angry, depressed? Who freakin knew? whatever he was he was currently a lot of it and it was sending his aura into overdrive burning the booze as it filtered into his system.

“Qrow makes it look so pathetically easy” he muttered to himself as he looked into the garden with a new sense of disdain.

“What can I say” came a familiar voice from behind him, Tai didn’t even bother to stop his eye roll as he turned around to face his ex-brother-in-law. “I just have a talent”

Qrow was taking a pull from that cursed flask of his and was wearing his usual grey scarecrow get up. Tai considered telling him to fuck off but he’d been alone too long on the island, Ruby was off doing what she could and Yang was… _save that for when you have an abyss to stare into._

“What are you doing here Qrow?” he wasn’t going to tell Qrow to fuck off but he wasn’t going to play nice. Sympathy spread over his former team-mate’s face. “I know it’s not to check up on me”

“What if it is?” Qrow said voice slightly slurred but still making an honest attempt at sincerity.

Tai folded his arms over his chest and gave Qrow a look “Is it?”

“It’s not the main reason no.” Qrow looked at the wall where the beer bottle had shattered then back down at Tai worry in his eyes. “but the main reason is just my excuse to check on yah”

"…thanks," Tai said with a grumble as he walked over to the garden and began picking up shards of glass. "How's Ruby doing? She doesn't say much when we talk over scroll"

“She’s not the best. Has a good team looking out for her though. She’ll recover no doubt about that”

Tai allowed himself a small smile as a white-cloaked beauty flashed through his mind.

“She’s got a lot of her mother in her” he looked back at Qrow and saw his face droop suddenly and alarm bells went off in Tai’s head. “What?”

Qrow strode over to a nearby tree stump and slowly slumped down into it, his face grim. “That’s actually the main reason I got sent here”

Tai felt a chill run down his spine as another lost love flashed in his memory this one far darker and much more intimidating.

“She’s back Tai. This thing with…” Qrow paused “well this _thing_ has set her off and she’s dishing out death threats to, well, just about everyone she can, mainly Jimmy and Oz. Ozpin is wondering if you might be willing to help us with this.”

Tai just stared at Qrow for a few minutes playing back everything he’d just said over and over-analyzing every word as logically as he could. _Yang’s situation set Raven off. Raven’s threatening Ozpin and Ironwood. Raven’s back now of all times. Raven’s pretending to care now. Ozpin thinks I can somehow reel Raven in. Ozpin thinks I can help him. Ozpin thinks I want to help him._

Taiyang squeezed the shards of glass in his hand so hard they cut through his aura and he started to bleed.

“Tai?”

“Yang’s dead, Qrow" he said it calmly like it was a certain thing. For Tai it was.

“No Tai she could-” Qrow started to say before Tai cut him off

“Qrow what’s the survival rate of beacon students their first week after graduation?” he knew the number, but he needed Qrow to say it.

“75%” Qrow stated with some confidence in his voice even though he knew what question as coming next.

“What about drop-outs hunting without a license?”

“…35%”

“And they all have access to weapons, aren’t being hunted by the same people they were meant to fight alongside and usually aren’t beaten within an inch of their life before being thrown into a forest filled with Grimm” Taiyang never shouted once during the rant, he kept his voice level throughout but the gravity of what he said was all he needed. He turned to look at Qrow with his blue eyes boring through Qrow’s red. “You gamble Qrow and you gotta admit Yang doesn’t have the odds”

Qrow looked down defeated and Tai felt no pleasure in the victory, he just felt like he had in the past 2 weeks; hollow inside.

“I know why Ozpin did what he did. Fuck I even know why Ironwood acted the way he did. They wanted everyone in the kingdom to be safe and live peaceful uneventful lives without even the idea they might be in danger” Tai took in a shuddering sigh, as zen as he was, somethings should be emotional. “but my daughter is dead. Yang is dead Qrow. Both of them helped make that happen whether they wanted to or not! I won’t go out and try to kill them like Rai, but I won’t get in her way if she wants to.”

Qrow stood and resting his hand on Tai’s shuddering shoulder. He’d started crying he didn’t know when it started but now that it had, he couldn’t’ stop it. He felt like batting Qrow’s hand away but he knew it wasn’t his fault.

"I'm sorry I brought this to you Tai," Qrow said with real sympathy. “I told Oz this was a stupid idea.”

“Tell Ozpin not to come and try to convince me himself. I’ve lost too much for his cause already” He didn’t say it like a threat just a fact of life. Qrow scratched the back of his head and started to turn away from his former teammate.

"Will do Tai" again he paused considering something "You should come to Beacon and help with the Grimm effort. It ain’t healthy being stuck here alone with your thoughts and I’m sure Ruby would be happy to see yah”

“I’ll think about it Qrow," Tai said in a tone that implied he was gonna wallow in his misery for a few more weeks before considering that. “See you around”

Tai heard the flutter of wings as Qrow left. Marching back inside he began the slow painful process of plucking the bits of glass out of his palm. He winced as he plucked since he needed to shut down the aura in his hand to get the shards out, there was nothing to dull the pain the glass brought.

_Don’t want the skin to heal over the glass_. He mused to himself as the glass shards clinked against the metal of the sink. _If something doesn’t heal right the first time it could be ruined forever._

As the work drifted into monotony Taiyang found his mind drifting to his ‘remaining’ daughter, and the maddened call he’d received after Yang’s escape. She’d been a blubbering crying mess over the phone and when he realized what she was saying so was he. Pausing as he finished pulling out a particularly large glass shard from his palm, he considered that maybe he should stop by and check up on Ruby sooner rather than later.

After getting all the glass out and letting his aura finally go to work on his hand Taiyang spent an hour cleaning his home, restacking DVD cases, organizing his books alphabetically and rewashing the dishes. It was as he was organizing the medicine cabinet that he realized he was just keeping himself busy. He needed to clear his head so without thinking he grabbed his coat and headed out into the cold to see the only person who could help him.

* * *

**The Grave**

There wasn't originally a path to the cliff face, most people on patch wanted to discourage anyone from being near the cliffs that dotted the island. But Summer Rose was not most people. Tai had bought the land when Summer moved in as a thank you for helping him take care of Yang once Raven left. Summer used to walk the cliffs when she wanted to be alone. It was her place and she always told him how beautiful it looked and how at peace she was when she was there. He never liked cliffs, not since the Beacon initiation but when she asked him to go he couldn’t find it in him to refuse and when she confessed how she felt he couldn’t lie and say he didn’t feel the same. They got married there. Now she was ‘buried’ there.

There wasn’t originally a path to this cliff but Taiyang and his children had made one with their many pilgrimages to visit Summer. To them, it was sacred ground but as Tai approached he felt like something was off, his aura flared in subtle warning, not the same type of warning he’d get if Grimm were nearby but a warning of danger still. As he approached the grave his ears finally caught up with his aura. Someone was speaking.

_Must be Qrow _Tai thought to himself, his drunken former teammate had picked up the family habit of visiting the grave but unlike Tai, he'd been far quieter about his visits. Tai slowed his walking not wanting to disturb whatever Qrow wanted to say to summer. But as Tai started to turn around the words gained clarity.

"She's so much like you it's infuriating" a cold chill slithered up Tai's spine as he recognized the voice. _Raven!_ For an instant, he was unsure what he should do, run, hide, confront her? Some small part of him even considered it might be rude to interrupt her time with Summer. So, in the end, all he did was stand there and listen.

“When she’s injured she wants to help me dammit! Me!" Raven let out her low chuckle that few people heard. "She's risen to my expectations, dust she sees them as a challenge half the time. Honestly, she has some of the worst traits of her father and me in her Summer"

Tai peeked through the trees between him and grave. There he saw her black hair flowing behind her, feathers spilling out of it. Raven’s gigantic great sword was set down next to her and her horrifying white mask was left right next to it. She was sat down in front of the grave, legs crossed and leaning forward her hand resting on her knees as she spoke to the silent grave.

Tai swallowed choking down his fear and anger. Hell, Raven might have been the worst mother on this earth but she was still Yang’s mother as much as he was her father. _She’s probably here for the same reason I am. Maybe I can do Qrow a favor and talk her out of this vendetta._

Still, he felt the bitterness eating at him but he knew that here in this place he wouldn’t have it in him to lash out at her, It’s not something Summer would have approved of. Setting his feet on the well-trod path Taiyang slowly approached the former love of his life. He didn’t step on a single tree branch or fallen leaf as he approached, Raven didn’t hear him until he’d cleared the tree line.

He knew she heard him since she tensed and slowly reached for Yureru. She didn't turn around, instead waiting for him to come into range before striking out at him.

"No fighting here Rai, anyplace else is fine but not here ok?" he didn't even break his stride as he approached the grave, daring her to make a mockery of this place. Instead, she slowly moved her hand away from her sword and into her lap. "Thanks"

He sat down next to her leaning back on the palms of his hands, struggling not to look at her and to keep focused on Summer’s grave. He was silent, everyone else his daughters, Qrow and even Raven it seemed would talk to Summer but Taiyang never needed that even in life she knew what was on his mind, in death he didn’t need words.

He heard the clink of glass and looked to see Raven set a half-empty bottle filled with golden liquid between the two of them. He looked up at her and found she was avoiding looking at him too.

“Vacuo mead I always pour half out for her when I visit” she spoke her voice quiet. “The rest is yours”

Rather than respond he simply took the bottle and took a small pull from it. It was honey sweet and it reminded him of spring. They sat in silence for a long while before Tai spoke.

“How are you holding up?” he asked rather than what he really wanted to ask ‘where have you been’ but that question would lead to conflict, and he wouldn’t sully this ground with a fight.

"I'm… well, Tai. Thank you" her voice was stiff as if she was struggling with what she wanted to say. That would have been interesting to Tai if he weren't just stricken with a severe bout of annoyance.

_Well? She’s well? Her daughter just got murdered and she’s well?_ He felt physically tense at the thought and he took another swig of the Mead to try and calm his nerves.

“How have you been?” she asked her voice again stilted. Finally, he turned to look her in the eye and she met his gaze with her pure crimson eyes, there was a pitying look in her gaze as she focused on him.

“How do you think?” he spoke through gritted teeth. Raven reached out a hand towards his shoulder and Tai stopped it with a glare. He took another pull of the mead before handing it back to Raven. “She used to ask about you know”

Raven looked straight forward as Taiyang spoke. “Some days that was all she could think about. Finding out why you left, who you were and what you were like” Raven took a drink from the bottle and pretended not to see Tai wipe away a tear from his eye. “Honestly I was one more semester away from telling her everything, the good and the bad.”

Thinking about how Raven had constantly shunned Yang made Tai sick to his stomach that could have been the mead as well, this Vacuo stuff was strong. He felt the bitterness eat at him, this woman had denied his daughter so many things in her life and taken so much from her he couldn’t let her just sit by Summer’s grave and pretend she was making amends.

“I heard you were gunning for Oz and Ironwood. It’s a bit too little too late, hurting them won’t bring Yang back… or Summer” Raven wouldn’t look at him, that was fine he could deal with that, he wasn’t sure how he’d react if he saw her crying. Standing up he started to walk away when Raven’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"Wait" was all she said and despite his misgivings, he did as she asked. Raven didn't turn to look at him as she spoke. "Tai for the love you once had for me I need to ask a favor"

Taiyang jerked his hand out her grasp and glared down at her. “Really? here? What do you want my help in your crazy scheme killing Ozpin? Or maybe you’d like me to turn a blind eye while you lay low in my house? Want me to be a drug mule for you? Is that it Raven? What do you want from me? And why do you think you can ask for it here?” he was shouting but he didn’t care, this was a situation for shouting.

“She’s just like you, you know” Raven spoke with a hint of joy in her voice and Tai almost flinched back as confusion spread through him. “She has your smile, she fights like you, she can light up a room just by being in it like you and she fell in love with the wrong girl just like you too”

“Raven?”

Raven stood up to face her ex-husband and he saw a smile on her face, it was filled with pride, not arrogance. "You can't tell them, Tai, they'll hunt her for the rest of her life if you do"

Taiyang felt his heart racing as his mind processed what Raven was telling him, a mixture of confusion, relief and joy spread through him like wildfire and he felt his Aura fade in and out. He took a staggering step back and Raven held his shoulder to steady him.

“Is she?” he said nervous he was simply in a dream.

“Yang is alive Tai” she pulled him into a hug and host of confusing emotions ran through him but in that instant, he was just happy to hear that his daughter was still alive. He felt Raven shivering against him as she held him, and he couldn’t tell if she was laughing or crying. “Promise me you won’t tell them. Please say it! She’ll die if they cage her Tai… Don’t let them take her from me”

"She's alive" was all Tai could muster himself to say as his brain struggled to process everything, suddenly he reached down and lifted Raven up into the Air as he spun around. Raven had a shocked tear-stained look on her face as Tai spun her around. "SHE'S ALIVE!"

“Taiyang Xiao Long put me down” Raven shouted to him squirming in his grasp. He did as she said but before she could properly collect herself he pulled her into a proper hug, Tai was far better at hugs than Raven was.

“Our daughter’s alive” He exclaimed wiping tears from his eyes. He pulled away briefly to look at the slightly befuddled Raven as a realization hit him. “You saved her didn’t you?”

“Y-yes” Raven spoke trying to fix her hair eyes avoiding Tai’s joyful gaze. “She was hurt, losing a lotta blood after a specialist brutalized her and she was… shot. She's strong Tai, you should have seen it. Out of aura and still strong enough to put the specialist in his place." Raven had a warm smile on her face as the memory came back to her, in an instant her face became serious and she looked Tai in his eyes again. "Do not tell them, Tai. Please!"

"I… I won't Rai" he replied taking a deep breath trying to cool down from his high when another question prickled his mind. "Raven… Why did you tell me? I'm glad you did but why did you?"

Raven took a step away from him hugging herself. “Because I know how you are Tai. I know what this would do to you.” Her red eyes glimmered “And I know you’d try and find her once everyone found out she’s still alive. And if you came after her she’d resent you too. Yang doesn’t need the thought of you hunting her down”

Tai considered that for a minute and both a strange gratitude hit him as well as a deep apprehension. “Thank you, Raven, I really am thankful for you doing this but Yang can’t live on the run”

“Why not, I have?” Tai had to concede that point but as tough as Yang might have been, she was still the tiny girl with pigtails to him. “Besides she won't be out in the world by herself”

“She’ll feel alone” his voice came out with that old hint of the philosopher in it. “She’s got the whole of remnant against her, it’s gonna be hard on her.”

“Screw the rest of the world” Raven snapped, Tai didn’t flinch back, he wasn't afraid of Raven’s anger. “The rest of the world doesn't give a crap about her, why should she concern herself with its opinion?”

Tai had seen this in Raven before and he wasn't shocked she still thought this way, Raven didn't like cities, she didn't like crowds and her hatred of authority was legendary. She'd grown up outside the kingdoms and it'd left a mark on her. Tai was pretty sure that he could count on one hand how many people Raven trusted, well one hand that had held onto a grenade for a bit too long. Honestly, he’d prided himself on being one of only two people to have broken through Raven’s barrier, if only briefly. But he wasn’t sure he’d want that for Yang.

He took a deep breath ready to tell Raven as much, but he caught something in Raven’s eye that made him turn his words into just an exhale of breath. That same look he caught in his own eyes when he saw Yang push past her old limits and work past her own struggles. It was the pride one can only feel for their own child and it was in Raven’s eyes right now as her mind wandered back to her daughter.

“Can I see her?” he asked his voice quiet. Raven visibly tensed, and her arms fell by her side.

“I’m not… I’m not sure that would be best for her right now” she said while looking at the Horizon, Tai felt the old anger and frustration pull at him again, he was about ready to tell Raven off when a sound caught his ear. “I didn’t want to leave”

Her voice was barely a whisper and anyone a centimeter from where Taiyang stood would not have heard it.

“What?”

Raven turned back to look at him a frown was on her face and the hint of tears in her eyes.

"I should never have fallen in love with you Tai" she spoke voice cold and filled with frustration. "You had to be the responsible one, had to be the charming one, the understanding one! The perfect Father! The righteous hunter! The Idiot who went to fight Grimm with his bare hands!" She lifted a finger and poked him in the chest pushing him a step back. "I was and still am stronger than you Taiyang! I am strength! I’m a Killer Tai! But you made me weak! You made me want to be weak!”

A tear ran down Raven’s cheek and hit the dirt right in front of Summer’s grave. Tai didn’t know what to say or what to do, Raven was crying in front of him. He’d seen her laugh at Grimm that were kept out of most textbooks and bury children without shedding a tear, this sight unnerved him.

“I wanted to stay here, with you, with Yang… With Summer and grow old and die” She looked back at the Gravemarker “but I wouldn’t serve Ozpin and I couldn’t have you risk your life to protect me. So I… I…”

Raven fell silent as Taiyang tried to process what she’d just said to him. He tried to sort out truth from fiction but an inkling part of him knew what Summer would want him to do and slowly he reached his hand out and held onto his ex-wife’s hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Tell Yang that her father loves her," he said as he squeezed Raven's hand. "and when she's ready to come home I’ll be here for her”

Raven said nothing and instead simply nodded.

“…and for you” He felt Raven’s hand tense in his palm. Raven started to pull back but instead took a step forward and rested her head on his chest. Taiyang felt his face flush red at the intimate closeness of her, The hugs had been quick and spontaneous with joy distracting him from the closeness but this was different. He brushed his hand over her back as she just stood there and listened to him breathe. He didn't know if she was telling the truth, she'd done so many terrible things to him and Yang over the years he wasn't sure he could work through that. But deep down he knew that some part of him loved Raven and that some part would always love her, so he held her for dust knows how long and listened to her breathe.

“You fell in love with the wrong girl” she mumbled into his chest.

“I know”


	23. Rocky Road ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rise to power and the emotional fall

Nora sailed through the air riding Magnhild. The wind was in her ears her hair was flowing behind her and she was about to give an old friend some payback. Last time she'd fought Yang she'd been alone and had severely underestimated her, but now she had known what to expect and had done like a thousand more push-ups since their last meeting.

She slowly descended, hit a roof, cartwheeled and launched herself again with her Hammer, slowly but surely flying towards her destination.

_Ren will catch-up soon enough_. She assured herself still feeling sad over leaving him behind with Blake, but when Ruby asks a favor they couldn’t say no. Suddenly she saw sand dunes fast approaching, she let her feet drop from her hammer and mentally prepared herself for the roll.

She rolled as she hit the sand and popped back up in a semi-crouched position, her hammer gripped in a dragon’s tail stance, Magnhild’s head dropped out of her grasp when she saw everything. The sight was interesting in a macabre sort of way; There was Yang bruised and battered covered in a ruined Grimm Kimono with a trembling hand half reaching out. She was reaching towards a crying Ruby Rose almost as bruised and battered, cradling a heavily bleeding Weiss Schnee in her lap. Weiss only had one injury and it was worse than anything the two sisters had, her face was hidden behind a red mask of blood that Ruby was desperately trying and failing to clean up.

Yang suddenly turned towards Nora and instantly the thunder-child forgot her snappy one-liner she'd been prepping with Ren since the mission began. Instead of just standing there slack-jawed she lifted the hammer back up and glared at Yang's eyes through her still absolutely terrifying Ursa mask. Her cheek twitched as she remembered how long it took her cheekbone to mend itself after her brawl with her former friend.

“What the heck happened Ruby?” Nora asked not taking her hand off Magnhild nor her eyes off Yang. Ruby started to talk but all that came out was a blubbering mess, Nora’s heart wept at the display she knew how broken Ruby could be sometimes, and unlike those past times she couldn’t help her properly.

“I hit her”

Nora flinched as she heard the words come out of Yang rather than Ruby, they were cold and detached as she spoke and yet still rung true to Nora. Taking a deep breath she focused her aura and launched herself right at Yang and pulled her Hammer back in a full swing. Ruby shot her hand out towards her but was too far away to reach Nora.

“SMASH!”

“NORA! STOP!” Ruby managed to shout just as Magnhild’s head struck Yang’s stomach.

Nora could feel something break under that strike, a lotta things actually. And the horror-struck her, she’d just hammered into an unprotected Yang. _Oh, Dust I just killed Yang!_

The thought only worsened as she saw tiny shards of Yang flung into the air all around her. Both her and Ruby's eyes widened as they saw them fly through the sky, a bit of shoulder here, a touch of hair there, an arm over there. Panic overtook both girls for an instant before logic caught up with them and the illusory shards of glass-Yang hit the ground. Nora just stared as the broken glass of what was once Yang dissolved into the sand.

“Ummm, What?”

* * *

**Two years ago **

Emerald was frustrated, more so than normal. This had been a bitch of a month, filled with setbacks, chewing outs, and missed opportunities. 

_Is that funny_? She thought to herself _I took an opportunity and now we’ve only missed opportunities. _

** _Not a toe out of place_ **

That’s what Cinder had said before the mission began, how was Emerald supposed to know that the Bimbo was going to get Beacon disqualified and steal all the attention from the White-fang and the tournament. _Bint was a damn drama queen hope she appreciates the attention in hell._

Emerald sniggered at the thought, she disliked all of team RWBY but her despisal of Yang was particularly potent. Emerald valued subtlety, stealth, and classy dark haired women. Yang was none of those things and… and….

"And I'm just hating on her for my own stupid mistake" she muttered to herself making sure that none of the White Fang idiots overheard. They'd nearly emptied the warehouse and there were only a few dozen of them milling about lifting the crates upon crates of dust on to trucks and parked bullheads.

Emerald hopped down from the ledge she’d been sitting on, technically she oversaw the relocation operation, but Emerald knew better. This was bitch work. This was punishment, a lighter punishment mind but punishment, nonetheless. Suddenly her scroll dinged in her pocket, lifting it up she saw that she’d received a message.

From Mercury.

She rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed groan as she tapped the message open.

**M: Bored wyd?**

Emerald pinched the bridge of her nose since the incident Mercury was now either glued to Cinder's side or left in some base somewhere to keep up the Yang illusion and maintain their cover. When it was the latter, he was always bugging her.

**E: My job, go read your comics and stop bugging me.**

**M: Read them all**

**E: not my problem.**

**M: Come on Em, Ill kill your enemies.**

**E: Jesus you are bored. Talk to Neo I'm sure you psychos have a lot to talk about.**

**M: She’s not here.**

Emerald froze and reread her scroll again and again. She pinched the bridge of her nose so hard she was worried she’d break it.

**E: Where is she?**

**M: Don't know didn't say where she was goin**

_He thinks he’s being funny, doesn't he?_ Oh, Emerald was going to give him the worst string of nightmares when she got back to base. _And to make matters worse the icecream psycho is wandering around Vale, probably stabbing random people in alleys._

**E: Does She know where Neo is?**

**M: mybe Aint gonna bug her though, she’s talkin with Horn-head.**

**E: Stay put I’ll try and get the little twerp.**

Emerald scrolled through her contacts searching for the little girl's scroll info when she heard a blade scraping on concrete. She put away her phone when she turned around to face a diminutive pink girl dragging a small sword along the floor. Neo was walking towards Emerald and she had the most disturbing grin on her face. Emerald was uncertain what her relationship with the now captured Roman Torchwick was but whatever creepy asylum he dug her out of Emerald hoped she’d never see it.

“Neo, you left Mercury alone” Emerald folded her arms over her chest. “The idiot gets bored when he’s alone and he bugs ME when he’s bored”

Neo dragged a finger down he cheek in a mockery of crying before unfurling her parasol and twirling it behind her head. Emerald let out an exasperated sigh, she didn't need this maniac lurking about scaring the white fang members and slowing down the already snail’s paced work.

"Neo, what do you want?"

Neo in response pulled out a familiar lighter and twirled it around her finger letting the flames dance and lick at her hand. The lighter had a Jack-o-lantern on it and once belonged to Roman Torchwick. The tiny woman wouldn't stop bothering Cinder and Emerald about Roman’s continued incarceration.

“I told you already, hell Cinder told you already. We’re not ready to move on Torchwick yet, the situation isn’t right” Neo pouted and pointed a thumb towards herself. “No you can’t go get him yourself, we have too many variables we need to juggle at once.”

Neo lifted a finger and looked as if an idea just struck her, despite herself Emerald had to admit she was curious about what the little creature was thinking. Drawing her fingers through her hair, the pink and brown locks gave way to long golden hair and when she blinked her eyes turned to lilac.

“The Bimbo? What do you want with her?” Emerald could hear metal bending somewhere and she cursed under her breath, one of the Faunus morons must have set a filled box on top of an empty one. "And please tell me whatever you're planning won't piss off Cinder"

Neo smirked, pointed at herself then dragged her thumb over her own throat in a motion that frankly lacked all subtlety and killed the need for guesswork.

“You want to kill her?” Emerald didn’t really get on with Neo, it wasn’t cause she was clearly psychotic, it was because no matter how hard Emerald tried she could never get a proper read on the girl. Case in point she didn’t know Neo hated Yang enough to want her dead. Hell Emerald was almost sure that Neo’s fight with Yang had been her way of violently flirting with her, Neo occasionally struck Emerald as the type of person to kill someone they _Loved_. “The bint is already in the wind. We don’t have time for you to go hunting after a corpse”

Neo clasped her hands together and put on a pleading pouty look that Emerald was sure Torchwick could never say no to. _Now that I think about it what the heck were they together; friends? father-daughter? Business partners? Lovers?... thanks brain I didn’t want to go there but you certainly did._

“You know what, once this is all over, I’m sure Mercury would love to help you out with that hunt” _And I would love the peace and quiet. _“But for now, go back to the warehouse and make sure no one sees his gross little robot legs, I’m sure if you keep him entertained, he’ll let you fiddle with them”

Neo started walking in circles tapping her chin in clear contemplative thought. While still pacing she flicked out the lighter again looking Emerald in the eye with a dead serious glare.

Emerald folded her arms sick to death of not-hearing this question. “NO!” she shouted at the girl.

Neo's face suddenly had a sadistic grin on it and she quickly unfurled her umbrella in front of her. Emerald flinched back from the sudden unfurling and swatted at the parasol only to have it crumble away like broken glass. As the Glass fell apart a fist shot out and struck Emerald full in the face launching her across the warehouse. Her Aura hadn't been raised when the shot had struck her and as she felt her face, she knew that her nose was now broken.

Pulling her hand away she saw a small dribble of blood pour onto her palm. She grit her teeth. _You know what fine I’ve had a tough week I’ll take this fight._

“What the hell was that for Neo” Emerald turned to face the tiny girl as her hand’s reached behind her to grab her sickles. She paused, there was someone next to Neo slowly pulling back their fist. The new woman wore a Grimm mask and matching kimono with golden locks spilling out from the mask and red eyes looking out from the mask’s eyes. This woman wasn’t one of Emerald’s White fang minions, she was something else.

Activating her Aura Emerald started to swing her sickles parallel next to her as she eyed the intruder, slowly the White fang goons put down their crates and started approaching the scene. “So Neo your friend packs a punch, mind introducing us?”

In response, the girl lifted her fist and popped all her knuckles by simply squeezing her hand. She glanced around the room eyeing everyone from behind the mask. _That thing freaks me out. what’s with it?_ Emerald thought, watching her scan the room. The Faunus seemed curious as well as she saw them looking for a tail or ears of some kind on the blonde woman…._Blonde! are you fuckin kidding me? No way._

“Or are you gonna let Yang introduce herself?” Emerald said with a smirk. The white fang instantly retrieved their weapons easily remembering what this woman had hit them with that day on the train. Slowly the Grimm-masked woman reached up and pushed the Ursa mask back up her head. Sure enough, it was the face of Yang Xiao Long hidden beneath that helmet.

“Oh Yang we were so worried about you” Emerald laid her hand on her chest in mock sympathy. “I’m sure mercury would love to know that you’re alright, I bet he’d dance for joy if you hadn’t broken his legs.”

“Its illusions isn’t it?” Yang spoke still looking around the room and not making eye contact with Emerald. “Your semblance that is”

Emerald said nothing but flinched when she heard Yang inhale through her nose deeply. Slowly she breathed out and her eyes fluttered like she was on something. It was then Emerald noticed that Yang’s eyes were now a crimson red rather than her relaxed purple.

“You don’t need to tell me, I already know” Yang shook her head. “WOOOO! That’s a rush! You know Emerald if you can walk out of here, be sure to tell Mercury that I want a proper rematch. No throwing the fight this time.”

With a swift motion, Yang shed the arms of her Kimono exposing her long-muscled limbs and a new Grimm-bone Ember Celica. Neo grinned as she looked the muscles up and down and began swirling her umbrella around her finger as she too looked into the Faunus crowd. The tiny Ice-cream girl winked at one of the Faunus causing the hardened terrorist to flinch back. Time seemed to freeze in that instant as the pair of psychos eyed Emerald and the crowd with the most sadistic grins on their faces.

_Perfect absolutely perfect._ Emerald thought as all hell broke loose.

Yang’s hand shot out, grabbing Neo’s ankle and flung the tiny woman over the crowd of collected faunus. As soon as she landed, she sprung forward and began man-handling the stunned Faunus crowd. Neo flipped over men twice her size, blocked attacks and redirected them into other White fang members. When a particularly large Faunus was launched back by a kick Yang shot forwards grabbed the big beast from behind and suplexed him into the concrete behind her. That's not to say she hit his head on concrete, no when Yang suplexed this dude she buried him into the concrete behind her. _Nope_

Emerald flipped through the air and onto the warehouse's walkway firing shot after shot at the blonde bruiser. Yang returned fire with her shotgun gauntlets but only hit air as Emerald zipped across the walkway. One of the new recruits charged towards Yang only for her to stop firing and smash him in the face with the strongest elbow shot Emerald had seen in a long while.

_At least that wasn’t me_ she thought to herself as she saw Neo cutting through the fang like a boarbatusk through a pre-school. Emerald blew out an exasperated sigh as a shotgun blast struck her in the side of the head and knocked her off the walkway. Flinging out the sickle and chain she caught the building’s middle beam and swung across the room to a new perch atop one of the stuffed shipping containers.

Taking a deep breath she focused her semblance. _But who to lay the smack-down on? _She wondered as she saw both women tearing through the white fang. Their fighting styles couldn’t have been more different, and it was fascinating to watch really. Yang fought like an animal, barreling through things, unleashing huge amounts of brute force as she fought, it was completely unrefined. Neo was the opposite she was swift and extremely precise with her attacks, and half the time she’d redirect attacks meant for her into someone else. _Guess it’s gonna be Neo_

The illusion Emerald unleashed was a simple one, simple but effective. She merely adjusted the image of the location of all incoming attacks, heading towards the ice-cream girl by about half a foot. Suddenly Neo’s hooks were missing, the White fang were actually getting in a hit or two, the tiny girl snarled and unfurled her umbrella waving it around her to create distance between her and her assailants. Suddenly a shrill whistle rang out that hurt even Emerald’s ears. _Fuck me was that Neo?_

As she turned to look back at the brawl, she saw a White fanger sailing right at her. Jumping out of the way her foot had barely hit the ground when Yang Xiao Long crashed into the wall next to her.

“Playing games Em?” Yang crooned as she dusted bits of wall off her shoulder. She took a step towards Emerald hands gripped like claws and her whole-body tense. “Messing with my head is one thing, but sweet innocent Neo? Now that’s truly shameful”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see sweet innocent Neo slicing a deer Faunus’ Achilles tendon with rabid glee. _Yeah innocent, Right. _Emerald held her sickles in her hand as Yang continued to walk towards her. _Just keep an eye on this bimbo, she’s stupidly direct and once she attacks, I’ll counter and bring her down. No need even for my semblance._

“So where’s the rest of your team?” Yang asked almost conversationally, but it would take more than that to throw off Emerald. “Neo ‘said’ you and your team had hit a rough patch”

Emerald was getting tired of this she swung the sickle chains at Yang leaping over her as she did. Yang brought Ember Celica up and managed to block a few of the slashes as Emerald sailed over her.

“Ah did I strike a nerve” Yang mocked. Emerald cursed herself, the plan was for her to wait for Yang to attack then counter, not swing at her first. “What are you upset that Mercury isn’t talking to you anymore?”

Emerald literally couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at that, she'd been sick of mercury since the day they met. Yang seemed to pick up on the eye roll, unfortunately.

“Oh not Mercury then, Wait don’t tell me?” Yang’s eyes widened in mock surprise. “You fell for that dark-haired tall drink of water, didn’t you?” Emerald felt her cheeks blush and her anger flair at Yang’s words. “What was her name? Fall wasn’t it?”

Yang let out a snort and had a childish look on her face that told Emerald exactly what was coming. _Don’t say it, don’t you fucking say it you stupid bimbo don’t you-_

“Does Cinder Fall know you Cinder fell for her?” And Emerald had had enough. Pouring her power into her semblance she made Yang see a direct attack coming right at her while the real Emerald leaped over her and swung her blades right at the back of Yang’s neck.

_Make a pun about this dipshit_

**Clang!**

The sound rang out as Emerald’s sickle blade collided with Yang’s upraised gauntlet. Yang wasn’t looking at the illusion, she was looking right into Emerald. Yang let out a breath from her nose as she leaned towards Emerald.

“I can smell you bitch” was all she said before the rolling punches started launching out. Only after the first three thundering blows struck Emerald was she able to disengage herself from the fight. As she sprinted away, she assailed Yang with sweeping cuts of her sickles, before switching to just shooting at her. A loud thud caught her attention and she turned to see that Neo was already halfway through HER forces.

_That psycho bitch. _Emerald thought as she took aim with her pistol to throw the little freak off balance when the side of Yang's palm collided with her head. Emerald hadn't heard her coming, she didn't hear footsteps or even her heavy breathing until she felt the palm strike at her. Emerald was sent spinning, turning the spin to her advantage she swept at Yang’s legs and cut deep into the blonde’s aura as she did, Yang hopped back from the attack.

Emerald was breathing heavily, Yang hit like a powerhouse and she'd been a bit too liberal with the amount of aura she poured into her semblance. They'd both taken bits out of each other's auras and Emerald knew that the White Fang couldn't last against a professional like Neo for much longer, the situation was swiftly tumbling out of Emerald's hand, she'd somehow had to find a way out of this situation quickly.

Then an idea struck Emerald, but it would rely on cutting line of sight with Neo. Turning towards Yang Emerald put on her best smug grin that shockingly didn't elicit the low growl she'd been expecting.

“So bitch You want to see something neat” was all Emerald said as she slipped into the maze of crates and ran further from Yang’s partner. The sun-dragon pursued but Emerald was only able to tell by keeping an eye on her since, creepily, her footfalls made no sound as she moved. “I promise you won’t be disappointed”

Emerald focused on the illusion, being sure to put all the proper affectations necessary and make sure that what she made was as real as possible. Once the illusion was prepped she swiftly turned the corner flung open a crate door. She made sure Yang could hear the illusion before she saw it, hell she made it, so Yang could smell the illusion before she rounded the corner. Those preambles were necessary for this trick to work.

As Yang skidded out of the crate hallway, she was greeted to the sight of Emerald holding a tied up Ruby with a sickle resting on her throat drawing the tiniest hint of blood. The scent of blood was important since apparently, the bimbo was sniffing out her illusions.

“Ah ah ah. No sudden movement or I cut her” to her credit Yang froze, seemingly stunned by what she saw. Emerald almost laughed when she saw Yang start to tremble. _I got her Cinder._ “Just drop your gauntlets, get down on your knees and I’ll let Ruby out of here safe and sound. Ok?”

Yang remained standing though her shaking was getting worse. Emerald made the illusion mewl and whine and say something like ‘no Yang don’t do it’ before shifting her sickle slightly to shut the illusion up. Just the usual hostage stuff.

“Come’on you-” Yang’s hand shot out and a Thunder dust round roared towards Emerald and struck her in the stomach. Before she could fall to the ground, Yang sprinted forward and grabbed Emerald's shoulder.

_How did she see through the illusion?_

“RUBY!” Yang roared in Emerald’s face before pulling her head back and smashing her helmet right into Emerald’s skull. The strike was hard, fast and seemed to carry more power behind it than Emerald would have thought the Blonde bruiser capable of. Yang’s finger’s dug into Emerald’s shoulders, then seemed to stab into them, then it felt as if claws were digging into her shoulders. Looking to her shoulders she saw that Yang’s finger-nails had taken on a thick aspect to them and seemed bone pale. Hot stinking breath struck Emerald in the face and she slowly turned to look back at Yang, her mask was down, and her eyes seemed to glow red from behind it.

When Yang’s voice came out it was disturbing, and some small part of Emerald wanted to do whatever it took to get away from her. “**Showing me HER was a huge mistake”**

“I’m sorry” Emerald squeaked as Yang’s head reeled back and smashed the master thief into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Yang**

_Today was a good day_. Yang thought with a chipper grin on her face as she dragged the unconscious Emerald back to the warehouse center. Stepping out of the shadows of the crates she saw Neo reclining atop a pile of White-fangers some unconscious, some… in a worse state. Neo grinned back at Yang from her macabre throne. Yang despite herself grinned back.

"Well, Neo I think you got me beat on Quantity. But…" Yang tossed Emerald down between her and the tiny assassin. "I think I have you on quality"

Neo hopped from the pile and calmly strode towards Emerald, eliciting uncomfortable memories from Yang as she did. The nasty déjà vu grew worse when she saw Neo pluck her small sword from her umbrella and hoist it over Emerald’s neck.

“Neo!” Yang commanded, Neo looked at her with a little pouting face. Yang rolled her eyes. “Not yet we still need her.”

That answer was the truthful answer, Yang knew she hadn’t stopped Neo because she had issues with killing, ever since the heart the idea of that level of violence had somehow become easier to stomach. It didn’t help that Emerald had also been responsible for ruining Yang’s life. Grabbing some dust enhanced mana-cles from her pack Yang cuffed Emerald and made sure the restraints were just a smidge too tight. _Hey, I never said I wasn’t petty_.

“We got what we came for let’s beat it before-“ a tapping noise interrupted Yang and she gave Neo an annoyed glare. The tiny girl didn’t seem to mind as she gestured to all the crates and outside to where a pair of Bullheads were waiting. It didn’t take long for Yang to catch on, reaching into Emerald’s pockets Yang quickly found her scroll and more importantly the bullhead’s manifest. “On second thought, tell me Neo can you fly one of those”

Neo gave Yang a wink and Yang again grinned. “Alright we’re changing the exit strategy slightly”

* * *

**Present**

Neo had hardly changed since that day when they did their first heist Yang realized as the little woman neglected to help her walk up the bullhead's ramp. She'd only grown an inch since then and her color scheme always remained the same even if she occasionally changed her outfits. The girl just liked her pinks, whites, and browns it seemed.

_I’m lucky Neo arrived when she did, Nora was looking for a rematch and I wasn’t in the greatest of spaces. _Neo’s Illusions were getting more and more complex the longer she practiced it seemed and had she not thrown up that illusion and grabbed her, Yang was certain that Nora would have broken every bone in her body with that swing. _Nora was not playing around._

After that near hit, Yang had been led further into the desert to a camouflaged bullhead already running and waiting to leave. Yang heard her feet dragging as she limped up the bullhead's ramp, she sounded like an old lady minus the cane. Had she the energy Yang would have made a joke at her own expense but right now she was too exhausted to think up anything. In mockery of her predicament, Neo skipped up the ramp and into the cargo bay. Flipping through the space Neo went up and greeted the pilot.

“SOOOOOoooooo, we got our Dragon-lady back safe and sound, that’s good to see” Roman Torchwick’s voice resounded through the aircraft and into Yang’s skull. The man had a voice for showbiz. “How’d the mission go darling?”

Yang tried to open her mouth to respond, give some sort of retort when the floor suddenly rose up and struck her full on the face. More accurately She'd collapsed face-first onto the metal floor. Roman slowly spun around in his chair to give Yang a confused look. All she could do was look at him from the corner of her eye, she honestly didn’t have enough juice left in her to freakin turn her head.

“I just polished those floors thanks for noticing” Roman stood from the chair and sat on his haunches making it easier for Yang to meet his eye. “Still gonna need that mission report before we take off though. 1 blink if Green took the deal and we're in on the job of a lifetime. 2 blinks if he didn't and we're about to face absolute soul-crushing failure."

Yang blinked once.

Smiling roman stood up but not before smacking Yang’s shoulder blades, eliciting a tired moan from the downed girl. “Good job kiddo, Neo be a dear and strap her in?”

Neo, who’d been lounging in the co-pilot’s chair up until then, slithered out to Yang and daintily flipped her onto a row of seats. Once Yang was up Neo began strapping the unmoving dragon into her seats. As the bullhead started to take off Yang lamented her foolish over-exertions of the past few days.

_Fighting nearly non-stop, three chases, dug myself out of an early grave, broke my aura at least twice and unleashed the dragon. And that’s nothing compared to the fuckin emotional roller-coaster._ Yang let out a sad moan and fruitlessly tried to reach up and pull her precious mask over her face and hide her shame.

Neo ever attentive to the misery of others pranced over to Yang, sat on her stomach and slid the mask down to conceal the blonde’s beaten and bruised face. _Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, do not think about it!_

** _I Maimed Weiss._ **

And like that the bottom fell out from Yang’s stomach and she just let unconsciousness take her away from everything. Away from the heartache, away from the exhaustion and now away from the guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by Tovanori yet again  
If anyone knows another good artist to commission I'm all ears. Leave a review if you can


	24. Puppets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team RWB recovers

Blake's eyes slowly cracked open, an annoying beep filled the room around her and there was an intense stiffness around her neck. The fluorescent lights of the room were burning her retinas and it took her many a squinting seconds to adjust. After a few blinks, her eyes recognized that she was in a Huntsman infirmary, which was not exactly a hospital for huntsmen and huntresses, it was more sort of a place where Huntsmen/huntress bones are set in the right position and their Auras were expected to handle the rest when they wake up. Upon recognizing that, her gaze drifted over to Lie Ren who was sat next to her bed looking intently at her. Instantly Blake's fear response went into full overdrive, she pushed herself as much as she could into the corner of her bed away from Ren and her hands quickly went the top of her head.

To her ears. She expected to touch them but instead, she felt her hood covering the evidence of her Faunus heritage. Half of the tension in her faded away and she let out a sigh of relief. Then the pain shot through her neck and chin, it was a sharp agonizing pain that took a second to subside. Once the pain died down a little Blake realized that she couldn't really look down or turn her head, she had a neck brace put on over top of her hood.

_OW fuck! Yang’s did a number on me._ Blake hissed through her teeth at the intense pain in her neck/chin before focusing her Aura on healing. The whole while Ren hadn’t budged an inch. _Why is he here with me?_

"Your hood was down when Ruby found you," Ren said as if he'd read her mind. The color flushed out of Blake’s face and she could feel her heart racing at what might have happened if Ruby hadn’t been there. “She sent me to make sure they didn’t see anything”

_What did I do to deserve a friend like Ruby_? Blake thought allowing herself a tiny upward twitch of her cheek. _Wait, Ruby?!_

Blake started up and Ren’s hand shot out grabbing her wrist preventing her from leaving the infirmary bed. She glared at his hand on her then shifted her gaze to Ren himself.

“Where’s Ruby?” she croaked out. Dust Yang really punished her throat, either that or she’d been out of it for longer than she thought. The idea of being unconscious for days did not fill her with happy thoughts. _Yang could have punched me into next week for all I know._

Her uneasy feelings were made worse by the look on Ren’s usually serene face, he was just as worried as she was. She was about to twist out of his grip when Ren suddenly turned grey and the discoloration spread from his hand up Blake’s arm until it encompassed them both. As soon as ‘the grey’ hit the tip of her head a cool calmness spread through Blake and she relaxed in Ren’s hand.

_I won’t be much help to Ruby with this neck brace strapped to me, just stay calm and don’t rush off._ Rational thought ruled in her mind once more and she sat back down in the bed, letting out a tired sigh. Ren let go of her wrist.

“What happened to Ruby?” she croaked out again, this time making no sudden movements.

“Ruby found Yang, Yang hit Weiss with punch meant for Ruby and tore a gash in Weiss’ face, both of them are here” and like that Blake’s heart rate was back up. She kept her cool this time, she had to, her pack needed her calm.

“Where?”

"I'll show you, Jaune's with both of them now" Ren extended his hand toward Blake and after a second of hesitation she took it and allowed Ren to lead her through the infirmary's ‘halls'. The huntsman infirmary was less of a building and more of a tent, a well-built tent with perfect airflow going through it but still a traditional Vacuo tent none the less. Blake could see into a few rooms as she and Ren walked, huntsmen and huntresses of varying ages and severity of injuries were receiving what care they could. The care ranged from resetting the bones of broken legs to supplying food in response to low Aura.

As Blake walked through the hall and peered into the rooms, she felt her hackles start to rise in a sign of danger. It took her only a second to recognize it, everyone in the infirmary was glaring at her, not just the rough and tumble huntsmen but the nurses and bone-setters as well. 

Her senses were telling Blake that she was surrounded by enemies and that she should get Gambol Shroud back in her hands ASAP. Seeing her pack though, that needed to come first. Finally, they came to the ‘door' that led to Ruby and Weiss' room. Blake felt her heart rate jump up again as she approached the tent-flap that constituted for a door in the infirmary and when she stepped past it, she felt relief, though it was short-lived.

The Room was exactly like hers, Ruby was sat up in one cot while Weiss lay in another. Jaune was sat next to Weiss, his hands extended over her and his aura glowing all around his wrists and hands. Nora was lent against the wall until Ren walked in and she seemed invigorated just by the sight of him. None of this concerned Blake as her eyes scanned her team-mates.

Ruby, who was sitting in a black tank top, was covered in bruises, tiny scratches and a few first-degree burns. Her face was even more emaciated than usual clearly an indication of an overextension of Aura. Her eyes were bloodshot with dark bags beneath them and most worrying of all she apparently had barely touched the plate of cookies set next to her cot. She looked up at Blake as the Faunus entered and gave her a soft smile the hid her inner torment rather terribly. Before Blake could smile back Ruby’s eyes shifted back to the white-haired girl sat next to her.

Weiss' condition was worse than Ruby's, the entire left side of her face was encased in gauze and bandages, both of which were starting to stain red. The bandage covered about half of Weiss' unconscious face and all around the edges of the bandage Blake could see an ugly purple bruise form.

_I’d never imaging Yang doing this to Weiss, to anyone else yes, but not Her_. The thought horrified Blake and instinctively she felt the urge to run and get as far away from these horrifying thoughts as quickly as possible. She would have run too were it not for Weiss stirring in her sleep.

"Oh Dust it's finally working," Jaune said relief in his voice.

“Don’t stop!” Ruby replied Mania in hers.

Weiss’ exposed eye slowly fluttered open and began scanning the room before locking on Blake. Blake felt like she was under a microscope when under that gaze. It wasn’t a glare but the Faunus girl knew that if she’d stopped Yang, or not underestimated her, Weiss would not be in her current condition. The shame of that failed fight was enough to keep her rooted to where she stood.

“Wuh-Weiss" Ruby stuttered reaching out and holding her partner's shoulder. Weiss' eye slipped down to look at that hand and mock-annoyed look spread over her face for a brief second.

“It’s good to see that you’re awake” Blake spoke softly, unfortunately drawing that eye back to her. Weiss started to sit herself up, Jaune reached out to stop her but Weiss in response flicked his hand away.

“Th sth th-“ Weiss glared at the bandaged over her mouth and painfully she peeled it back. Spitting out a cotton ball or two. “Dust! I’m glad to see you awake too Blake” Weiss coughed dryly. “Can I get some water”

At an unreasonably speed Ruby presented the bottle in front of Weiss’ face. Weiss gave no reaction other than to daintily pluck the bottle from her partner’s hand. _Ever the heiress even after so long_.

“The damage?” Blake asked.

“I’ll live” Weiss responded a sad look over her face. She touched the bandage and winced.

“And Yang?” She asked the question on everyone’s minds and just like she suspected the atmosphere in the room turned intensely Grimm. Nora rubbed her chin and gripped her hammer tightly in her hand, Ren held Nora’s shoulder and stared forward, and Jaune gripped the nape of his neck and looked anywhere else. Blake always felt like a voyeur when she watched team JN_R in moments like this, it was very similar to whenever Pyrrha was mentioned in their presence only less extreme.

Her own team was reacting in their usual way too, Ruby was just staring forward twitching at super speed and Blake knew the sound of a heartbeat was booming in her little leader’s ear. Blake knew her ears had flattened under her hood and that her hairs were standing on end and were she not trying to analyze the people in the room she was sure her own eyes would be jutting back and forth.

Weiss was… different from how she normally acted, normally she’d try to make a small summons in the palm of her hand to ground herself and keep her mind focused. She wasn’t doing that this time, instead she was… touching her bottom lip before pausing once she was aware Blake was gawking at her.

“She… escaped” Weiss all but muttered as her hand drifted to her bandaged eye. Suddenly her other hand rested on Ruby’s shoulder and the young girl stopped vibrating at subsonic speeds. Ruby looked up at Weiss and took a deep breath and gave her an appreciative smile. Blake always felt like she was outside of interactions like this and it made her feel like the omega of the pack, like Yang. She settled for sitting on the edge of Ruby’s bed.

“It was meant for me” Ruby spoke once she’d calmed and Blake’s ears perked.

“…What was?” Blake questioned.

Weiss pointed to her bandage and refused to meet Blake’s eye as she did. “I think Ruby means this, the hit was meant for Ruby”

“Dust” was all Blake could muster. The same feeling was clearly felt by everyone in the room, except for Ruby herself who had a tiny half smile on her face. That smile vanished once she saw Blake looking at her. “What’s the analysis of Yang now?”

Blake thought it would be best if they tried to look at this problem more analytically rather than emotionally, Weiss steepled her fingers and Ruby leaned back in her seat as both thought about their encounter with Yang.

"Her adaptive thinking is second to none," Weiss said the cold Atlesian upper-classness clear in her tone. "Her ability to analyze a situation and change her strategy to counter it was impressive, but during our fight, she prioritized creating distance with me over actually fighting me." Weiss paused, and her thumb brushed over her bottom lip in an odd little tick Blake filed away for later. “She’ll play psychological games when it suits her, say specific things to elicit confusion and disorientation in a fight.”

Blake nodded in agreement remembering what Yang said to her during the fight, Blake poked at her neck brace. “Yang’s precision has improved as well, her ability to focus her aura has grown along with it. I was foolish to engage her without back up.”

“Darn right you were” Nora all but shouted in agreement. Blake ignored that instead continuing.

“She has a cadre of special abilities she keeps hidden it seems and utilizes them sparingly” Blake lifted her shirt to expose a bruise on her right rib. “This was the result of her nicking me with a one-inch punch”

Ren stepped forward and looked at the damage, an impressed look on his face. Blake knew that Aura control and focus was his specialty and if he was impressed then what Yang and managed to learn over the last two years was truly impressive.

** _Mom taught me that one._ **

A chill ran up Blakes spine as the memory of Yang saying that came back to her. “She hasn’t just been on the run all these Years, I think she’s been with her mother.”

Everyone in the room seemed confused by that and they all looked to one another for answers, all except Ruby whose eyes widened before burying her face in her hand. Blake could hear a sigh hiss through the hands enclosed around Ruby’s face.

"That's not good," Ruby said from behind her hands, everyone turned towards her expectantly, but Ruby just stared into her palms. "She's figured out Dust-semblance integration fairly well, turned herself into a literal sun dragon there for a minute. That Mask of hers is… unnatural and when she spoke it sounded unnatural, Sometimes not all the time but sometimes. And…" Ruby let her hands slide down her face, she looked to the ceiling with her silver eyes wet with almost tears. “…and I think my sister is still in there”

The words hung in the air like a dead man. Everyone was gawping at Ruby, dust even Ren couldn’t restrain his shock. Yang had been willing to kill Ruby, had beaten Blake into a pulp and grievously injured Weiss who at that moment… wasn’t looking at Ruby with confusion like everyone else in the room. Weiss was fiddling with her hands and avoiding looking at anyone in the room.

“But” Ruby finally spoke looking down from the ceiling. “She’s not in the best mind right now and we’ll still need to bring her in, get her to someone who can help her so we’ll need to-”

The door flapped open and Blake had to shift her whole body to look as a pristinely beautiful girl entered the room, the girl had long orange hair that curled down towards the end framing a smiling freckled face with haunting green eyes. The girl wore long gloves which were dark and neo green and a matching combat dress, on the dress, was pinned a small Atlas officer's badge. The room was quiet as the girl lifted her right hand and waved at everyone in a mechanically perfect circle.

“Salutations everyone!” Penny Polendina announced to the whole room.

* * *

**Bar**

Junior wiped down the bar for what had to be the third time that night, he was nervous dammit if you'd had a week like he had you'd be nervous too. It was just a constant in an out after the explosion and the redhead had left. Once she was gone, a creepily calm Mistralian fellow came to pick up the unconscious Faunus chick and then the fang came to bare their teeth at him, though he knew the Vacuo branch wasn't shit compared to the psychos back in Vale, so he paid the animals little heed. After those morons came the cops, Vacuo cops, Atlas military cops, bounty hunters and he gave them all the same proper lie.

One of the Atlas idiots even brought up that he was a “Known-associate” of Yang Xiao Long’s and he politely told them to blow it out their ass. That pissed them off but he knew they didn't have the jurisdiction to arrest him here. Still, it was a day of hassles, cops and little to no customers. _Woulda been nice if one of the officers ordered a drink or something._

Junior sighed as he rested his head on his palm and investigated his empty dance hall; the place was a lot like his place back in vale though he thought the people here in Vacuo fit better with the atmosphere he was going for. Not to dis the people of Vale it’s just the people of Vacuo were darn hungry for life, musta come from living in a desert 24/7 and almost all of them were bronze-skinned beauties of the highest caliber. 

The doors opening drew his attention away from his musings and to a beautiful young woman walking down the steps into his bar. Junior smiled she was that pretty, red hair trailing down her back locked in a ponytail, a mesmerizing green get up all over her and different color eyes adding the right dash of imperfection to her to make him feel less intimidated. To top it all off she was so tall he wouldn't have to stoop to look her in the eye.

"Evening" he greeted her pulling out a bottle of his ‘good stuff' for his only customer of the night. The woman's eyes suddenly zeroed in on him and all those nice warm feelings in junior's gut vanished away. He felt like a butterfly with its wings pinned. "Uh… What can I… what can I get ya?"

The woman smiled at him, it was a charming beautiful smile that some part of him recognized from somewhere, but it never reached her eyes. Walking over to the bar with her hands held behind her back she never broke eye contact with him.

“Information” she spoke with a voice that seemed to have a lilting tone in it. “Oh and a cup of Vacuo cactus iced tea”

Junior swallowed, this woman intimidated him more than any of his last few investigators did. Every time he stooped to grab something from behind the bar to fetch a cup or search for the iced tea, he'd glance back and see her looking him right in the eye. Finally, he pulled out a jar of Vacuo iced tea and set it on the bar, the strange woman shook her fists in joy as he poured it for her. It was surreal, scary one minute then childishly giddy the next.

“So…” Junior cleared his throat. “What information are you lookin for? and what's it worth to ya?"

The woman finally broke eye contact with Junior and began sipping at the tea, humming pleasurably to herself as she did. “I’m looking for Yang Xiao Long, a list of her known associates and possibly her location. If that’s possible”

_So the same as everyone else_

The woman took another sip of the drink when she extended her hand pinky finger out. Suddenly a sword shot out of her back-sheath spun through the air and landed on her fingertip. Junior flinched back but the woman just calmly balanced the blade on her pinky before setting her tea down at the bar.

“The real question is what’s it worth to you to keep this information secret from me?” She asked. Junior audibly swallowed, he wanted to call his guards, but he could sense it would be pointless to try and use muscle on this one.

“I don’t know what you mean?” he lied. The woman flipped the sword into the air and caught it on her ring finger.

“Yes you do” her voice emerged from her lips cold and craggy like some sort of dead thing spoke the words not her. “What can’t you afford to lose?”

Junior’s eyes shot to the exit and back to the woman. Suddenly the cheerier demeanor reappeared on her face as she stood up and smiled at Junior.

"Tell me," she said in her bright voice once again. "Have you heard of the famous Mistralian Opera writer Urial Nakuta?” another sword sprung from her backpack and into her hand. “He choreographed a number of sword dances that were quite beautiful from_ the fool to the crown_, _The Ox and the poppler tree _and _The winding feeling_. All tantalizingly beautiful.”

The woman started to dance across the empty dance floor spinning and swirling her swords as she moved. While her movements were truly graceful, Junior couldn’t help but feel that he was in grave danger.

“Nakuta’s sword dances were second to none, unfortunately, he went mad one day" her dancing stopped for a second. "He claims he met with a goddess and she showed him bizarre and impossible things and bade him compose a final opera and choreograph the ultimate sword dance. That's what his memoirs claimed at least.

His final dance _The Grimm mother_ was so haunting, so violent and so disturbing that it was banned in mistral as a threat to the mental well being of the populace.” The woman smiled and the swords flung out, again and again, she caught them, this time standing upon a single toe as she did. "I could give you a small sample of the dance in exchange for the information, I seek."

_ You’re dealing with 2 different customers_. Junior realized to himself, moving his hands away from the rocket bat beneath his bar. _One’s offering the carrot, the other’s offering the stick. Both are dangerous._

Junior gave the Red woman a nod before clearing his throat. “I’d love to see this dance”

She grinned and this time the grin reach both her eyes, and then the dance began.

She began by sheathing her swords and started with a few simple movements across the dance floor, there was grace and precision to her action while her face was serene and without spirit. Junior had seen dancers before this wasn’t too enthralling. At least until her hand touched her sword handle.

As the hand gripped the sword her moves became slower deliberate in their motions and the air around her became tenser for her movement. Junior's boys started paying close attention to the lone dancer on the floor and Junior himself started to notice the rhythm of her footfalls on the floor. She half unsheathed the sword and her movements slowed further yet flowed together more precisely. The tranquil face was replaced by a glaring one and the tension in the air rose steeply.

In an instant the sword was free and with a quick motion, it cut through the tension. The speed was back into the dance and her feet were flying back and forth across the dance floor, only lightly touching the floor. As the sword swung a whistle could be heard, it was beautiful in a dangerous sort of way and the whole bar was silent save for that whistling blade. The woman threw the sword into the air, crouched and caught it with her opposite hand and as she swung the blade everyone recognized that the whistle was different, the blade was singing a different tune. It was enchanting, to say the least, and Junior had to give this Nakuta fella credit, dude could make a dance. Then the second blade came out.

The songs of the blades were different, vastly different and yet somehow complementary and their different whistles were heard by the silent crowd present and when blade met blade in quick sparking instants Junior was sure he heard the sounds of battle. The Blades clashed more and more often in the dance, they were tossed through the air and caught in more and more death-defying positions and each action created a clearer image. It painted a picture of a war unending, the craze of the battlefield and most potent of all the bloodlust of warriors. The woman was enraptured by the sounds of the blades and every now and then Junior would catch her dancing with her eyes closed. Finally, as the madness built and built and built to a crescendo, the blades were suddenly sheathed and everyone in the room let out a breath they’d all held in reverence to the performance.

It was beautiful, horrifying and completely obvious in its implications towards Junior should he keep the secret to himself. Despite that implication, Junior found himself clapping to the performance. The Red-headed woman gave him a graceful bow, her long ponytail barely scrapping the floor beneath her.

_There’s only one way I get out of this alive. _Junior thought not ceasing his clapping. _Give her what she wants._

“I don’t know where Yang is” he stopped his clapping when the woman’s face snapped back to look at him. He cleared his throat with a small cough. “When she was here, she made a deal with this fella she called, ‘Mister Green’ did an assassination job for him I think”

Sauntering back over to the bar the woman retrieved her tea. “Green, Green? Green! Hmmmm” she tapped her chin in a pantomime of deep thought. “The name does ring a bell, is that all you can remember?”

Junior didn't swallow, he didn't scratch his nose, he didn't avoid her gaze, he instinctively avoided doing anything that might implicate that he'd even consider lying. Sometimes he played into those lie projecting habits to throw off leads or to muddle the investigators' minds. This red-head though was not a woman for mind meddling and despite knowing about Raven, he didn't want to come off as lying to her.

“Yeah pretty much” a glare appeared on her face and before he knew what was happening she’d jump atop the bar grabbed the back of his head and was pressing the edge of her blade against his throat. He didn’t even have time to throw up his aura.

“Pretty much?” her corpse voice had returned and was at odds with her smiling face. “I asked for everything, not for ‘pretty much’ everything”

The racking of guns and the unsheathing of swords resounded throughout the room, Junior’s new guys were jumping to his aid. He’d smile were it not for the blade at his throat.

“Best to put the pig-sticker down little lady. Don’t want this to get messy” dust his lieutenants were cliché but he didn’t pay them for their oratory creativity. This close to the Red-haired woman he could only look her in her face.

_Such a familiar face at that_. His mind tried to attach a name to the face when he noticed something profoundly disturbing; Her green eye was weeping. That's nothing new, Junior had seen his fair share of crying women before, hell this was a bar it's where most beautiful crying women went, what disturbed him was that the golden-brown eye wasn't crying. Not only was it not crying it was moving independently twitching around in its socket towards the direction of where his lieutenant had spoken.

“What’s your name?” she whispered to him the golden-brown eye still twitching and searching.

“Hei Xiong”

The woman gave him a soft smile and for an instant, he was worried more about her than he was about himself.

"I'm sorry Hei." she said calmly and something seemed to click in his head and he knew where he'd seen her before. The soft smile turned sadistic and she flipped away from him and landed right in the center of the dance floor. She lifted her hands into the air and a dozen swords sprung out of her backpack and began floating around her like two halos at her back. The dark green metal armor bits began unfolding and covering her arms legs and torso in segmented plate-mail.

_Well, The Guardian of Vale is about to fight my guys great._ Junior slowly pulled out his rocket bat, when Pyrrha started to slowly rise off the ground and the swords began spinning faster and faster behind her. _The Guardian of Vale is gonna kill my guys._

* * *

**Blake**

Blake could only stare as the robot girl gave a short perfect bow to each and every person in the room. Ruby started to rise on shaking arms and actually succeeded in climbing to her feet before stumbling towards the Atlas machine.

“Penny!” she exclaimed with a smile on her face, a smile slightly stained red Blake noticed. tripping Ruby fell into Penny’s open arms and was pulled into a crushing hug.

“Ruby!” Penny exclaimed as she twirled Ruby about before lifting her up and setting her back on the bed. “It’s so good to see you again”

“You too Penny”

By that little exchange alone the tension in the room had been slain and despite being in the presence of a loud and proud Atlas agent they felt relaxed.

"It's been a while Penny," Weiss said stealing a cookie from Ruby's untouched tray. A slightly amused look spread over Weiss' face. "How long has it been?"

"3 months, 7 days, 2 hours and 14 minutes. Exxxactly!" Penny said it as if it were completely obvious, despite being very capable of understanding human interactions she never picked up that her level of exactness was a bit inhuman. Ruby stifled a snicker which turned into a shivering coughing fit. Penny rested her hand on Ruby's back and her palm began to glow somehow stifling the coughing fit. "Ruby you're suffering from Aura Overexertion that's not like you."

The robot girl leaned in closer and whispered something into Ruby's ear that even Blake couldn't pick up. Whatever she said it put a sad smile on Ruby's face and caused her to hug the mechanical Atlesian.

“Penny” Blake began shuffling over to sit on the end of Weiss’ bed. “Not that we’re not happy to see you but what are you doing here?”

“Oh you know just stopping by to check in on you” a loud hiccup escaped from Penny and she swiftly covered her mouth in surprise. Blake gave her a skeptical look. “I’m just a girl visiting her BFFs” Another hiccup.

"Penny, why are you really here?" Ruby's spoke softly yet firmly and reminded Blake why she was the pack-leader. For some reason, Penny looked at Blake intently then to Ruby and back to Blake. "What is it?"

“I’m not supposed to reveal sensitive information in the presence of wanted criminals”

“Excuse me?” Blake growled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Weiss snarled. They both glared at Penny before Ruby’s mightier silver glare beat them down.

“What do you mean Penny?” The red-headed girl calmly asked. Penny in response opened her scroll and showed a glowing holographic of an unconscious Blake with her ears exposed beneath a caption saying ‘White Fang, undercover operative working right beneath Atlas’ nose for years’. Blake felt her blood run cold and her hackles rose high. Turning her hands into claws she expected Penny to attack her at any moment.

But instead, Penny simply put away the scroll and gave Blake an apologetic look, seemingly oblivious to Blake's readiness for a fight.

“I really shouldn’t tell you guys about our mission, until this misunderstanding with Blake is solved right and proper.”

“So you’re not here to Arrest me?”

“That’s not our mission here, no” Everyone blew out a sigh of relief at that news, fighting Penny would have been a regrettable action to take.

“Are you after Yang?” Weiss’ voice was chilling, and she didn’t look at Penny when she asked.

_Something is very off with Weiss_.

“We. Are. After. Someone. You. Once. Knew” The words came out one at a time slowly as Penny seemed to struggle to reveal this information without actually breaking her oath of confidentiality. “Yes!”

_Well, that answers that question._

“So Yang” Nora said sarcasm clear in her voice.

“I can neither confirm nor deny that” Penny cheerfully replied.

_Well, at least Penny is sort of on our side._ Blake reached under her hood and scratched at her cramped ears. _It’ll be good to have her backing us up, hell even with Atlas holding her leash At least we know Penny won’t go for the kill… wait did she say ‘we’?_

A cold chill ran up Blake’s back and her eyes darted around the room again, looking at Team JN_R and seeing if they’d picked up on it too. As soon as Jaune’s mouth opened she knew they’d come to the same conclusion as she.

“Penny, what do you mean by ‘We’?”

"Oh, how Rude of me, Pyrrha was the one who requested my services for this mission."


	25. Ms.Hyde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang reveals a key aspect to her schemes

Yang was shivering as she laid down in the bullhead, teeth chattering as she struggled to gain some level of control over her body. She shivered despite the rabid heat in the aircraft and the sweltering Vacuo sun beaming in through its windows. The effects of Aura depletion and Aura overexertion were numerous and very well documented, with a myriad of recommended remedies, ranging from scientifically based to simple home remedies. Utilizing Grimm abilities, on the other hand, were much less well documented with no remedies for its effects written down anywhere. The damage caused by using the Grimm senses and unleashing the dragon was now currently eating at her insides, she was wracked with nausea, extreme soreness and a rabid desire to bite into something living on top of the usual after-effects of her busting her aura out there.

_And to top it all off, Neo is still sitting on my chest dammit!_ Struggling to lift her head Yang checked to see if the little psycho was still there and sure enough the tiny ice-cream girl was still perched atop ‘The girls’ eyeing Yang with a smug expression on her face. _Don't you smirk at me, you little witch_.

Yang tried to smack Neo off her chest but for all her struggling effort, all she managed to do was slowly raise her hand and flop it on top of the girl’s head.

“Neo” Yang grunted “Please do me a favor and choke yourself on my hand. Thanks!”

Daintily Neo lifted Yang’s hand and placed it against her throat and leaned in against the palm making uncomfortable eye-contact with Yang as she did. Yang tried to squeeze her fist shut but a turtle-neck would have done more damage. _Great, I can't even choke a person who is literally helping me do it._

Letting her hand and head flop down Yang let out a tired sigh. She could feel Neo giggling atop her boobs, that or the girl was bouncing up and down on them just to exacerbate Yang’s soreness.

“Quit it, they hurt enough without you bouncing on them” she croaked out, dust her mouth was dry. _ At least I can talk again. _“Neo be a peach sherbet and grab me some water alright?”

Once again, she felt the girl’s movements rather than saw it, she knew that Neo had left when the soreness on her boobs subsided. Neo was light on her feet and when she moved, she was almost silent. The creepy part about that silence was that unlike Yang and Raven, Neo wasn’t using an aura trick to do it. _Where did Roman find this girl?_

Yang was about to ask when she felt her head being lifted and set down on Neo’s lap. Pushing back the helmet Neo exposed Yang’s full face and looked down on her holding a bottle of water in her hand and knife in the other.

"Thanks, Neo," Yang said ignoring the knife even as Neo slowly lowered it closer and closer to Yang's forehead. Only when the blade scraped past Yang’s bangs and against her forehead did Neo retract the blade and give Yang the necessary water.

It felt like dumping water into the desert of Vacuo itself, it didn’t so much quench Yang’s thirst as it staved it off. Yang drank greedily until suddenly the drink was pulled away from her lips. Yang shot Neo a glare that could kill and tried to focus her aura only to have spurts of ghost flame flair around her. Neo held her hand over her mouth and giggled at Yang’s futile rage.

“I fuckin Hate you”

* * *

**2 years ago**

“I fuckin love you!” Yang screamed into the wind of the open door of the Bullhead as Neo sped through the air. “Woooo!”

The howl rang out into the mountain pass where they'd set up a base in the last two weeks. Emerald was still unconscious and tied up, unable to appreciate this beautiful sight or the exhilaration of the wind in her hair.

“We at the drop point?” Yang shouted at Neo in the pilot’s chair. She received a thumbs up from the girl. “Great I’m gonna try something”

_Coco was right there’s no fun like jumping out of a plane_. Grabbing Emerald by the chains Yang took a deep breath, took a step back and flung herself out of the Bullhead and into the open mountain air.

It was just like her dreams only with the threat of real danger, that danger made it all the sweeter. She'd been flung out of aircraft before but never from this height and never without the supervision of one adult or another. Sailing through the Air reminded her of the Beacon initiation and the excitement of just getting launched into a great unknown. Plus the wind felt fantastic through her hair.

Focusing her aura to her legs she braced for the fall and right as she was about to hit terra firma she flung her captive into the air. Hitting the ground she still rolled to offset the fall and quickly scanned the sky, sure enough, a greenish, brownish bundle was still flying up into the air… and away from Yang.

“Oh Shoot”

Yang sprinted after the bundle trying to keep track of it. _Turns out my throwing arm is still a bit off. _Vaulting over a felled tree she flung herself forward, hands extended, towards Emerald, reaching out to catch her before the little thief cratered into the dirt.

“Gotcha”

Suddenly Emerald simply hung in the air and Yang froze where she stood. Emerald’s arms were extended over her, seemingly held above her head by her Manacles alone. Focusing her aura to her ears Yang listened for any sound and the first thing that struck her was the sound of liquid sloshing in a container. When she focused it to her nose she could smell the booze. _Qrow_!

Yang didn't dare close her fist for fear of cracking her knuckles by accident, her eyes just nervously scanned the tree line for some flash of grey, instead, she received an eyeful of Red, Bronze and milky white skin.

_Pyrrha? _Well, that was an unexpected occurrence, but not entirely unwelcome. Yang had always wanted to throw down with Pyrrha truth be told but with the scent of her uncle in the air, she knew that that was not the brightest idea, and besides she didn't know what Pyrrha thought about the whole Vytal festival incident. _Who knows maybe she’s on my side… **Still, though** that fight would be **intense.**_

“Put her down, she’s not what we’re hunting after” Qrow’s slightly inebriated voice came from the foliage that seemed far off from Yang. His voice was more commanding than Yang was used to hearing.

“Why?” Pyrrha’s own voice came out strange as well. Something about all of this felt off to Yang, there was a tone of impatience in it and she didn’t seem to be asking for clarification so much as asking what Qrow will do if she doesn’t.

Qrow let out a tired sigh and Yang could almost visualize him wiping his hand over his face before he spoke.

“Pyrrha. Pyrrha!” Pyrrha’s head slowly turned towards where Qrow’s voice came from. “Ain’t that your friend Coco?”

Yang had to suppress a snort. _Apparently, Emerald’s been playing with a few other people’s heads. That or Qrow doesn’t recognize Emerald._

“Coco? No that not…”

“We saw her the other day and you called her Coco” Yang heard sloshing again followed by a tired sigh. “That argument can wait, just put the girl on the ground”

“Coco, no this bitch isn’t Coco” Pyrrha muttered as Emerald was slowly lowered to the ground. The alarm bells were going haywire in Yang’s head now and when Emerald was suddenly lifted sharply up and slammed into the dirt by Pyrrha they only got worse.

“Hey!”

Unconsciously Ember Celica unfurled on Yang's wrists. Yang needed to get Emerald out of here and back to the meetup point, she needed to get away from Qrow and Pyrrha. She focused her Aura to her feet and senses and crouched lower to the ground and simply listened. She heard the clumsy shuffling of feet as Qrow approached the younger girl.

_Why is Qrow with Pyrrha right now?_ That question would have to wait for another day. Yang’s priorities needed to remain straight.

“Don’t do that again” she heard Qrow hiss through gritted teeth. “So this ain’t Coco huh? Wonder why you thought she was the other day… She’s chained up”

Yang peered under the bush and saw that her uncle was now stooping over Emerald's unconscious form and lifting her chains with his finger. Behind him, Yang could see Pyrrha's bronze greaves and held her breath when they turned towards her.

“No no not Coco” Pyrrha’s voice came out familiar and almost frightened. “But I do know her” this time the voice came out cold, quiet and utterly unique to Yang. “She was there on that day”

Qrow’s hand holding the chain started to shake, it was subtle, nigh unnoticeable, but Yang could read someone like Raven, Qrow’s signs were obvious to her, and he was very frightened. He stood up turning to face Pyrrha.

“How about I just call this in? we head out, hunt some Grimm and leave her for someone else to deal with.” He took a step towards Pyrrha putting himself between the gladiator and Emerald. “There’s plenty of Bullheads flying about, she won’t be here for lo-“

“NO!” Pyrrha’s scream shook out sending a shock wave through Yang with its loudness and ferocity Qrow even took a step back away from Pyrrha. “No! she was THERE! SHE WAS THERE THAT DAY, She’s Mine!”

_What is she talking about? _Yang was shivering in her hiding spot, with a shaking hand she reached up and pulled her mask down over her face, and the cool calm flowed over her body and into her mind. It was like dipping into a cool pool and as she calmed, her mind thought rationally. _She's suffered as I have it seems, wonder what **they** did to Pyrrha._

An evil grin split Yang’s face for reasons she didn’t fully understand.

"Pyrrha Nikos," Qrow said like a man calming a horse like he was talking to a rabid beast. "You are Pyrrha Nikos, your name is Pyrrha Nikos and you don't know this girl"

"YES I DO! Don't I? I thought I did. NO, I DO!" Pyrrha squatted down on her haunches and gripped the sides of her head. Yang could see her face now, her eyes were closed but beneath them were heavy dark bags, she hadn't slept in a while. But still, her face was turned right towards her, Yang buried her fingers in the dirt in front of her and readied herself for a sprint to grab Emerald and be out of there in an instant, in preparation for when those eyes opened. "I don't know I don't know. Why don't I know?"

There were tears pouring down Pyrrha’s tired face and Yang saw Qrow place a hand on the former champion’s shoulder in an effort to calm her down. She was shivering and as Yang tried to sense her emotions only to be bombarded with a conflux of different feelings, strange feelings, incorrect feelings. The Grimm hated humans and viewed them as disgusting gross things but what Pyrrha was right now was Wrong, Unnatural.

_Mom was right, Ozpin will do anything for his “Peace”_ Yang grit her teeth so hard she could feel them crack under the pressure. _Ozpin, what did you do to Pyrrha?!_

“No Pyrrha you might know her. she might have been there, but you weren’t there on that day”

“I remember being there though” she whined. “She had different hair and clothes and weapons, but I’m sure that’s her, I’m sure of it. I was there”

“No you weren’t, That’s Amber’s memories. You are Pyrrha Nikos.”

Pyrrha took a deep shuddering breath again and again until her shivering seemed to stop. And for a second there was calm in the forest.

Then her eyes opened, and Yang stared into them, one golden brown the other emerald. _Something is very very wrong._ Emerald forgotten, Pyrrha unfurled Milo and launched it forward, Yang juked to the side out of the way and sprinted out towards Emerald on all fours. _Fuck fuck fuck that was nothing but rotten luck._

“Grimm!” Pyrrha shouted a half-smile on her face and Yang sped past her all in black her white bone armor showing off a very Grimm like appearance. Qrow swung his sword at his oncoming niece but Yang managed to hop over the blade, grab emerald and started to sprint towards the tree line when Emerald’s chains hooked on an upraised tree root and she was pulled forcefully backward. _Ahh Come on bad luck is one thing but this is bullshit._

Spinning with the trip Yang rolled away and righted herself on all fours again. Milo back in her hand Pyrrha began stalking toward Yang when confusion hit… well half her face. The javelin shifted to its rifle form and pointed right at Yang’s forehead. Qrow was also looking her up and down the barrel of his scythe Harbinger pointed right at Yang.

"It's not a Grimm it's a… person" Pyrrha lowered milo's barrel as she marveled at the animalistic Yang. "Maybe the one of the white fang?"

_Can’t resist_

Yang let out a low rumbling growl towards both huntsmen and slowly plucked Emerald’s chains off of the tree root, a shot blasted the chains out of her hand and she heard the tell-tale clockwork of Harbinger loading in another shot.

“Could be, we ain’t gonna figure that out if she gets away will we?” Qrow responded. “I don’t see any faunus traits on her, so…”

Then his eyes caught the wrist bracelets, and everything fit neatly into place. Yang could see it on her uncle’s semi-inebriated face, all those cogs turning in his head, she figured that people who knew her would be able to see through her disguise quicker than most. _All those years Qrow spent out in the wild sure paid off._

"Yang?" he said it with a mixture of Horror and relief in his voice. Pyrrha's face twitched and it took a good 5 seconds for the realization to fully spread over her own face.

“In the Flesh!” Yang sprung up from her more animalistic position to standing, her arms spread wide over her head. The movement was so sudden and quick it caused Qrow and Pyrrha to bring their weapons back up in shock. “Sup, Pyrrha?”

“Y-yang?” Pyrrha again lowered milo with twitching hands. “I-I’m sorry, I’ve been busy lately.”

**_It would be so fun to fight her_**. Something nice and kind and comforting whispered into Yang’s ear like a sweet nothing. An image of Raven’s disapproving face was all that was needed to squash that particular fantasy.

“What the hell are you wearing Yang?” Qrow asked annoyance in his voice. “Where the hell have you been?”

“OH didn’t you hear? I joined up with the white fang. Yep surprise Qrow I’ve been a secret faunus the whole time. Everyone thought it was Blake but nope it was me” Yang slowly lowered her hands and prepped her Aura for the sudden boost of necessary speed. The little hint of mockery was just a good distraction for her friends turned pursuers. “You know death to the humans and all that jazz, we want free rights and crap.”

Yang blew out a raspberry drawing an angry look from Qrow and a half-confused look from Pyrrha.

“This isn’t a Joke Yang!” Qrow shouted at her taking a step towards her.

"Yes, it is!" Yang shouted back, stepping towards her uncle in clear challenge. "The uncle who berates his sister for being an absentee mother leaves his own niece high and dry when she's at the worst point in her life. That's funny. I cared for Ruby her whole life and protected her only for her to nearly cripple me when I needed her the most. That's funny! And a kingdom I fought to defend and protect thinks I'm a traitor and is willing to chuck me into the hands of another kingdom. THAT'S. FUNNY. It all has to be funny Qrow or else it’s all unbearably fucking sad.”

Yang laughed and turned away from her Uncle and former friend. She felt her hand shaking and could smell the iron in her nose.

_I’ve made a horrible mistake_ She thought to herself as the adrenaline flowed like rapids through her, she was grateful for her mask not only was it dampening her feelings but it concealed how teary her eyes were getting. _I shouldn’t have lingered or said that._

“Yang!” Qrows voice came out commanding towards her.

Spinning around Yang launched a shotgun blast right at her uncle’s face. “Leave me alone!”

Qrow ducked beneath the oncoming shotgun slug. Yang, wasting no time, scooped up Emerald and began sprinting into the forest around her. Suddenly the wind picked up in speed and she felt a cold chill blast over her. Ignoring the cold Yang continued running with Emerald slung over her shoulders until her captive was suddenly jerked backward. Shooting a looked over her shoulder Yang's eyes couldn't help but widen.

_Oh, dust!_

Pyrrha stood in the middle of a small tornado her hand extended towards emerald and bizarre mixture of horror and hate stretched over her face.

“She’s mine!” Pyrrha’s voice seemed distorted like two people were talking at the same time and as she spoke Yang felt the tug on Emerald’s chains grow more insistent. Digging her feet into the ground Yang tried to pull back against the magnetic grasp of the former mistral champion. As Yang began to focus her aura to give her next pull a little more Oomph Qrow slammed into her knocking her to the ground.

_Come on man_. Rolling with the tackle Yang managed to spring back to her feet and get her fists up to face her seemingly sober uncle. At the same time, Emerald's chains were brought right into Pyrrha's grasp, the Amazon slowly lifted Emerald up by the chains letting them go when her arm was fully extended and relying on her powers of polarity to lift the illusionist further. Distracted by that odd scene Yang was barely able to counter Qrow kick aimed right at her chest by deflecting it to the side.

_Focus, fight Qrow first save emerald later._ Deflecting the kick away Yang quickly closed the distance and launched an open palm strike into Qrow’s chin sending him into a spin. Rolling with the spin Qrow swept at Yang’s leg, hopping over the sweep Yang’s foot landed on an uneven stone causing her to start stumbling back.

Again her uncle surged forward and launched a punch at Yang’s face. Smiling and focusing her aura to her face Yang tanked the hit, it hurt but not as bad as she expected it to. The blow was strong but she’d focused her aura and was back on solid footing. So when Qrow’s knee came at her she was ready. The knee struck her stomach and would have knocked the wind out of her had this been two weeks ago but instead, she barely lurched back and took hold of Qrow’s leg. Qrow had about a millisecond to look both shocked and impressed before Yang’s elbow slammed down on Qrow’s upper thigh.

“GAAAAHHH!” Qrow shouted stumbling back gripping his bruised thigh. “Yang you-!”

Pointing both shotgun gauntlets behind her Yang blasted herself into her uncle smashing him in the chest with a devastating shoulder check. His aura sparked as he was launched back, he halted his backward momentum by slamming Harbinger into the dirt. _Finally, he brings out the big gun._

“Nice move firecracker!” Qrow said though there was no mirth in his words. Yang responded by cracking the knuckles on one hand. Qrow lifted Harbinger over his head with a miserable look on his face when suddenly his eye’s shifted over to Pyrrha, dragging Yang’s gaze with them.

Pyrrha had magnetically wrapped the chains of Emerald’s manacles around her throat and was choking the now twitching girl. _What did you do Ozpin?_

“Pyrrha!” Qrow shouted causing Pyrrha to snap out of whatever state of mind she was just in and thankfully loosen the chains around Emerald’s neck. Both of Pyrrha’s eyes shifted towards her handler though disturbingly Yang noticed that there was a delay between the movements of each eye. “Put the girl Down NOW!”

Emerald hit the ground like a sack of potatoes as Pyrrha turned back to look at Qrow and Yang. Qrow gestured to Yang never breaking eye contact with Pyrrha.

“Focus” spoke his voice again calming. “Help me with Yang and then we’ll deal with whoever that is. Ok?”

She gave Qrow a nod and a Yang a calm smile that she’d seen on Pyrrha’s face a hundred times. Then her hand lifted up and she tried to crush Yang’s Grimm mask with her polarity. The pressure was extreme and Yang’s head was filled with agony as she felt her Grimm mask being magnetically pressed into her skull.

_Pyrrha’s trying to kill me._ Yang’s mind raced in panic. Yang fell to her knees grasping at her mask trying to pull it away. She was slightly aware that Qrow was screaming at Pyrrha but the pain was drowning out what he was saying. _Pyrrha’s going to kill me._

**_Weak!_** The word boomed in Yang’s head and suddenly the pain was replaced with a sort of delirium. It took her a moment to realize it was her own thoughts shouting at her. **_Pyrrha’s going to kill me with my own Mask. MY MASK! If she kills me here now I’ll be weak._**

Focusing her aura to her head and then her helmet she felt the pressure lessen further and further. When she looked up she saw that Qrow and Pyrrha were arguing, Qrow’s hand was gripped around Pyrrha's upraised wrist and was desperately pulling at it. Slowly on shaking legs, Yang brought herself back up to a standing position.

**Mom said give your enemies illusions of weakness and punish them for looking down on you.**

She still gripped her helmet and let out a horrendous shriek. Qrow turned to face her and Yang took a few stumbling steps towards Pyrrha and Qrow. Instantly she felt the Mistralian attempt to increase her pressure and fell to one knee in response screaming even louder.

“Pyrrha!” Qrow rasped at the former MRT champ, clearly, he'd shouted himself hoarse while Yang was in agony. "Let her go!"

“She was coming right at us” Pyrrha’s voice was filled with confusion. Honest confusion.

“We don’t just kill people! She’s my niece! She’s your Friend!”

“And yet you left me” Yang moaned, thinking back to her mother’s lessons. “You left me to die Qrow. You didn’t even search for me”

Qrow could have retorted, he could have cursed at her, he could have done a whole lotta stuff but instead, he stayed silent. Because he knew Yang was right. Only when the doubt was thickest on his face and in his mind did Yang strike. The shot she fired at Qrow and Pyrrha was a dust cartridge, one of the few her mother had shown her how to forge, a combination of fire lighting and earth creating a particularly powerful explosive she called ‘Thunder dust’. She had to use this round regardless of how long it’d taken her to make it, Pyrrha’s control over metal would make any non-dust rounds useless.

With a twitch of her hand, Pyrrha _Or the thing that once was Pyrrha_ attempted to halt the incoming shot with her magnetism, rather than bring her shield between her and Qrow. The thunder struck and ignited screaming out a resounding boom and sending both targets flying in opposite directions. The path to her charge now clear Yang let out a snarl and retrieved Emerald once more before racing off into the woods.

**There is no bravery in fighting a losing battle **

_Man mom’s mantras are useful._

She had to multi-task freakin hard as she ran through the woods; first by slinging the unconscious thief over one of her shoulders and texting rapidly on her scroll. She was writing on automatic and had diverted almost all of her protective Aura to her legs to keep her moving forward and fast.

**Y: Drp PoInt compenisedd** **ned evac.**

The message was garbled, and she half considered just calling her when a red wound, in reality, opened in front of her. Yang sprinted through it and ran smack dab into a wall. She felt her unprotected nose crack as it struck bulk-head. "OW!"

Raven's hand shot out and clamped itself over her daughter's mouth and squeezed it tightly. Yang's eyes finally scanned her surroundings and saw that she was within the depths of a ship. The portal behind her had vanished and she was alone with Emerald and her mother. Raven slowly turned Yang's head to face her, to look into the Grimm mask on her mother's head, slowly she lifted her finger up to where her lips should be as if to say "Sssh”

Yang gave her mother a slow nod and Raven’s hand was swiftly removed from her lips. Focusing her aura to her ears she heard faint footsteps come closer before walking off and finally fading away to nothing. Raven nodded to Yang signaling her to speak.

“We’re in the clear. Neo and I were at the drop off point when-“ Raven’s hand smacked the backside of Yang’s head and threw the girl slightly off balance with the force of it. Gripping the back of her head Yang whisper shouted at her mother with evident annoyance. “OWW! What was that for?”

“For getting caught this early Daughter mine and for cutting off my escape route” Raven couldn’t afford to yell at Yang, not in here, but even if they were alone in an open field Yang knew her mother’s voice would never rise higher than an octave or two. Raven didn’t need loud when she wanted to make a point. Pushing out a breath Raven held her daughter’s face and examined her broken nose. “Hmmm, who saw you?”

“Qrow and…” Yang hesitated, earning a raised eyebrow from her mother, though the eyebrow was rather difficult to see from behind her mask, Yang could just see it in her mother’s stance and posture. “…And Pyrrha, but something was ‘off’ with her it was like she was an entirely different person.”

“Ozpin and Ironwood’s futile little quest justifies any action. Don’t scream” That was all the warning she gave before she grabbed Yang’s nose and cracked it back into place. The sudden pain was terrible, but the only noise Yang made was a sharp intake of breath. “I’m sure my brother would like to have words about this, did you tell him you were with me?”

"No," Yang said poking her nose before letting her aura handle the rest. Her questions about Pyrrha and Ozpin's ‘futile quest' were pushed back to the depths of her mind as she focused on the mission before her. "Have you found Torchwick?”

"Yes," Raven retrieved her scroll and displayed a map of the ship's interior inside it. She pointed to a cell on one of the mid-levels. "He should be here and the guards present should be negligible, though We'll have to think up a new escape plan"

Retrieving her own scroll, Yang set about typing even quicker. “I got it, Neo’s still out there and has transport”

“Transport?”

"We stole a bullhead filled with dust contraband," Yang said not bothering to hide the smirk. Raven paused just staring at Yang for a minute until Yang felt slightly uncomfortable. Yang almost flinched when Raven reached out, grabbed the back of Yang’s head and pressed her mask’s forehead against Yang’s. A buzz seemed to go through the masks and Yang heard hints of the song again, it felt nice and warm. The song ended when Raven broke away and gestured to the still unconscious Emerald.

“We can’t lose her. Set up the escape route, tell Neo we're on the clock" her voice was still cold and business-like. Adjusting Emerald on her shoulder Yang simply nodded and sent the information to their getaway driver.

* * *

**Present**

Yang flexed her fingers back and forth as she sat in the bullhead. They landed the ship on a plateau for the night and in the hours, it took to get here Yang had managed to sit up. Yay progress. She looked down the open ramp of the bullhead and saw that Roman and Neo were clustered around a portable electronic heater and Roman seemed to be babbling about some exploit or another to the little girl who shook slightly when he reached his punchline. _As close as neo can get to laughing_

She considered staying there and letting her aura take care of the desert cold, rather than walk down there to join the two outlaws but her Aura was coming back it was still on the fritz spitting out gouts of ghost flame every few seconds. Blowing out a shivering breath, Yang slowly lifted herself up and limped to towards the heater.

Seeing her distress Roman opted to not get up and help her down the ramp. Not that Yang would’ve wanted his help with that anyway.

“The little dragon walks, congratulations” Roman gave Yang the most sarcastic slow clap she’d ever heard in her life not helped by Neo joining in. “Come on and have a seat”

Yang was just sweating getting down the ramp so when she finally reached Torchwick and Neo’s side she had to collapse on the ground rather than sit.

“And she sticks the landing” Roman commented wryly unafraid of Yang’s eventual wrath. Yang slowly shifted herself into a proper cross-legged position and held her hands out to the heater, it was nice, and its warmth helped her differentiate her cold shivers and her AD shivers.

“So” Roman spoke retrieving a cigar from his pocket and jamming it into his mouth. “Care to fill us in on what this job with ‘Mister green’ is?”

Leaning over Neo extended Roman’s old lighter and lit the end of his cigar for him, granting Yang a curious look before returning to her seat.

_I still haven’t asked them what their relationship is._ Yang thought, neglecting the question, choosing to instead look up into the desert sky, it was truly beautiful so filled with stars and infinite looking. _It’s enough to make a girl feel small._

“Well?” Roman’s insistent voice piercing through Yang’s little moment of Zen.

"Roman, has Raven ever steered you wrong?" Yang asked not taking her eyes off the expansive sky, it helped quell the Grimm aspects inside her. "She's certainly been more upfront with you about her schemes than your last employer."

“That’s not much of a bragging point, ole Cinder wouldn’t tell me where to find the fire extinguisher if our hideout was burning down” He blew out a puff of smoke before grumbling to himself a little bit. “Still a hint wouldn’t kill yah”

Yang sucked in a breath of the frigid air, it was cold but in a refreshing sort of way. _Like Weiss_. Yang smiled softly and the memory of Weiss and the thought of the kiss they shared not a few hours ago and everything turned sour as the memory of her fist crashing through Weiss’ unprotected face flashed in her skull. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them close all at once feeling dreadfully exposed and unstable.

“Kid?” Yang looked up and saw Roman was looking at her with a look of concern mixed with caution. “You’re not gonna flip out on us are ya?”

Yang looked from Roman to Neo and saw that while the little girl wasn’t looking at her, she was tense and seemed ready to spring into action at any moment. Yang consciously let go of her knees and flopped down onto the ground again her arms splayed out.

“Just some issues of the heart is all” she could almost hear Roman rolling his eyes at that comment. “Now the mission is an assassination one again”

“Alright. Another diplomat or perhaps would-be-megalomaniac?”

“Nah, think higher Roman?” Roman scratched at his chin before taking a deep drag.

“High ranking huntsman?”

“Close” Yang teased.

“An atlas specialist?”

"Not anymore" She let the words come out slowly, letting it linger on her tongue for a bit. She did this all to see the look on Roman’s face. Roman did not disappoint. The outlaw tensed as the realization hit him. Slowly Yang turned her head to see Roman staring at her with a wicked look in his eye.

“Yer kidding” he drawled.

“Nope! Mom’s had it in her mind for 2 years now” Roman extended Yang his arm and she took it allowing herself to be lifted back into a seated position. “and ole Jimmy Ironwood has slipped up royally”


	26. What friends are for

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is in recovery mode and all are dealing with it in different ways

**2 years ago**

Crescent rose's maintenance was a complex affair that always seemed to keep Ruby's mind calm and focused. Her panic attacks were still not completely under her control, but when she had her tools in her hand and her weapon on a workbench she was never afraid of losing her calm. She sat in the Beacon forge-works while she went to work on her beloved weapon, away from the rest of her team. Weiss and Blake were always there for her and willing to help keep Ruby calm and collected, but Ruby refused to use her teammates as a crutch when she could avoid it. The Beacon forge-works was a nice little workshop that could house about a dozen full teams, with numerous metal desks within it meant to hold entire teams and their collapsible weapons. Along its walls were dust dispensers and an assortment of tools used for weapon maintenance, the whole place reeked of gun powder and cleaning oils, two smells Ruby just loved.

With practiced precision, Ruby disassembled her beloved sniper scythe, working until she removed Cresent Rose's barrel. Looking down it she saw that there'd been a bit more wear and tear that would normally build up over the course of a normal week.

_But this hasn't been a normal week, has it?_ The images of near-constant battle flooded into her head, the Grimm had been relentless of late. They came on slow, at first, right after the Vytal festival ended, but they would just not let up. Students, teachers and any available huntsman were getting sent out with the regular army to help quell the tide. The worst part was how normal it was to everyone now, how over the course of 2 weeks the whole affair just became mundane. _The worst part may be how relaxing I find it_.

Retrieving her cleaning kit she set about oiling and brushing the rifling of Crescent Rose, scrubbing hard at the powder residue and rust that had built up within the barrel. Her pipe-cleaner came out blackened as usual and as she started to dip it into the cleansing oil she reached too far forward and pushed the glass beaker holding the oil off her work table and onto the floor, where it shattered into a hundred pieces.

"Oh Shoot," she said looking down at the spilled oil spreading on the workshop floor and the shards of glass glinting within it. Hopping down from her high seat she started dabbing at the oil with her rag and picked up the shards of glass. Picking up the glass was easy enough with aura protecting her hands but as she started to pick up the more minute pieces the sound of giggling hit her ear. Turning around to look at her fellow Beacon students she couldn't see anyone laughing at her, though the giggles did stop once she turned her head. There were only a few students in the workshop and Ruby now noticed that most of them were seated far away from her.

Shrugging it off Ruby walked over and dropped the broken pieces of glass into the disposal bin before approaching one of the other workbenches where a couple of boys were sat.

"Hey," Ruby said in a small voice as she walked towards the pair who were fiddling with a set of knife-pistols, they looked up at her with an annoyed glance. "I was wondering if I could borrow some cleansing oil fro-"

“Piss off” one of the boys all but growled at her causing Ruby to flinch back. The tension between them grew thicker when their annoyed looks shifted to hateful glares.

"Alright," Ruby half muttered in response before walking to another workbench this one populated by girls. "Hey, do you have a spare beaker of cleansing oil."

The girls didn’t say anything, they didn’t even acknowledge Ruby’s presence, she waved her hands in front of their face. “Hey excuse me? Do you have an extra beaker?” only one of the girls shot her an angry look and loaded a round into her pistol.

_Oh ok_, Ruby thought dejected as she walked away from the table. She scanned the room again and saw few friendly faces, almost none in fact. Team CRDL was there giving her death glares but that was nothing new, but everyone else was either not looking at her, staring daggers at her or looking at her with pity. _What on Remnant?_

She was about to sit back down at her own workbench when her salvation caught her eye, a woman dressed in designer clothes that were a bit out of place in this workshop was sauntering over to the dust dispensers.

“Coco!” Ruby exclaimed as she sidled up next to the 2nd year Beacon student. Coco jerked back at Ruby's sudden appearance and instantly reached for her combat tote. Once her sun-glass bedecked eyes locked onto the smaller girl her hand moved away from her compact minigun, though the tension in her body remained.

“Ummm… Hey Ruby….” Her normal extreme confidence was missing, and she seemed to be keeping her distance from Ruby. “What is it?”

Curiosity got the better of Ruby and instead of answering she took a step forward towards team CFVY’s leader, Coco didn’t take a step away from Ruby but she did lean a bit back from her. It was madness, normally it was Coco who got into Ruby’s face all the time and Ruby was well outside of Coco’s personal space bubble.

“I was wondering if y-you h-h-had a sp-sp-spare beaker of cl-cleansing oil” Ruby inwardly cursed at her stuttering, it was becoming an annoying habit whenever emotions hit her hard. Coco turned away from her underclassman and started collecting her things.

"Sorry, Ruby, fresh out I'm afraid" Either she wasn't looking at Ruby or she was looking at her out of the corner of her eye, either way, Ruby couldn't help but feel a little hurt by the action. "It was nice seeing you Ruby"

Coco started to walk away when Ruby’s hand shot out and locked around her upper classmen’s bicep. Coco tensed and looked back at the little red girl with clear anger on her face.

“Coco” Ruby’s voice came out quiet and weak, she suspected what was going on but had to hear it from someone else. “Why are you avoiding me?”

“Cause you’re a failure of a leader!” the shout echoed through the barren Forge-works Ruby turned to look at Cardin Winchester leering at her with his hands crossed over his chest. “That’s right grade-skipper you heard me. You’re an utter failure”

Ruby was used to this, dust it was Cardin this sort of thing was expected honestly, what was unexpected was how there were murmurs of agreement from the other tables of the workshop. Suddenly Ruby felt like she was surrounded by enemies. Like she was surrounded by Grimm.

“What kinda leader doesn’t know they’ve got a psychopath on their team? You’ve got some nerve showing your face around Beacon after a failure like that.” He lifted his mace and pointed it right at Ruby. “You might’ve been Ozpin’s favorite these last two semesters, but that favoritism ain’t gonna last with all your team has done.”

"I don't…" suddenly Coco slipped out of her grip and when Ruby looked up at her upperclassmen she saw that the older woman couldn't make eye contact with her, shame was written all over her face. "Coco?"

“You idiots get attached to a mission you certainly weren’t prepped for” Cardin continued, drawing Ruby’s attention back. Ruby couldn’t help it, it was like watching a train wreck of a train you were boarded on. “That leads to a huge Grimm incursion and suddenly we’ve got Atlas assholes posted on every corner of Vale. Smooth move idiot”

The murmurs of agreement grew louder. "Yeah way to go" "The Grimm wouldn't be this bad if it weren't for that." "And she calls herself a team leader" "No wonder she didn't see this coming"

Ruby looked for a single friendly face in the crowd, trying to find someone, anyone who was on her side, Nothing. She was alone. She wasn’t a normal girl with normal knees, she wasn’t the bee’s knees, she was just the girl who screwed everything up.

Her head down, Ruby walked back to her workbench and started to pack things up when Cardin's shadow loomed up and over her, his mace still threateningly in his hand. Turning to look at him Ruby's eyes froze on the image of the giant bird on Cardin's breastplate and for an instant, the spread wings became a Nevermore, with Yang in its claws.

"Where do you think you're going grade-skipper?" he all but snarled, but Ruby could only half hear him, she was still seeing Yang being devoured by a nevermore on Cardin's chest. "Things are changing around here twerp and if you think Team RWB…team Rube is gonna walk away from this scot-free then you've got another thing coming."

Again no one moved in protest, no one stood up to ask for decency and a few people smiled in anticipation. The forge works stayed silent even as Cardin lifted his mace.

"Cardin!" the shout cut through the silence like a crashing airship and all faces looked up to stare at the trio gathered around the forge-works' entrance. Jaune, Nora, and Ren were standing in the doorway glaring at team CRDL, who in turn sneered back. Cardin slowly lowered his mace to give Jaune a personally directed sneer.

“Well, well Jauney-boy stepping in to prove he’s the brave little knight” the sneer and sadistic pleasure vanished from his face. “This isn’t your concern”

“What do you mean? I’m just saving my dear friend Cardin from getting his ass-whupped” Jaune shot back, the speed at which he said it shocked Ruby out of her delusion.

_Damn, _She thought _Jaune brought his A game._

“You threatening me blondie?” Cardin all but roared back. “Cause it’s 4 on 3 right now and without your little champion I like my odds.”

Jaune waved his hands in a placating manner while Ren scanned for weaknesses and Nora twirled her hammer in her hand.

“What are you talking about Cardin, I’m just remembering the last time you fought Ruby and how it didn’t go well for you” now that did make Cardin hesitate for a moment, Ruby did have crescent Rose in her hand, she’d beaten him in the ring before and any back up he might have had would be distracted by team JNPR. Ruby’s deteriorating emotional state aside team CRDL might’ve been fucked.

With a little snarl, Cardin slowly lowered his mace and walked back to his workbench with the rest of his team. This fight wasn't over, hell it wasn't even close to started yet but that fight would have to wait for a bit as the members of team JNPR led ruby out of the forge, and away from glaring eyes. Ren and Nora glared back, just challenging anyone to step up and fight them.

"You alright Ruby?" Jaune asked once they'd gotten far away from the forge works. Ruby was struggling to control her breathing, it took a bit of focus and time but she was able to get her heart rate back under control.

_I’m getting quicker at that every time_. She thought glad to have at least one silver lining from this whole affair. She looked up at what she suspected were her only remaining friends outside of her team at Beacon.

“I…” she began then the floodgates opened, and a few tears poured down her blubbering face. “Not really J-j-j-jaune, Cu-Cardin’s right. I screwed up and and and everyone Hates my guts.”

She couldn’t hold it back, Grimm she could hunt, Atlas officials she could beat up and feel fine, but her fellow classmates, the same people she was supposed to help protect the world with, Ruby had trouble dealing with that. She wiped the snot from her nose with the back of her sleeve and looked up at team JNPR.

_They’ll get sick of you too._ Some dark part of her head whispered. _A foolish little child playing at being a huntress, being a leader and can’t even take slight bullying. What a joke._

Ruby felt like turning and running and not burdening Jaune with her issue. Sucking in a deep breath and holding back the tears she gave Jaune a weak smile.

“I’m sorry to bug you with this Jaune, that was a bit-” before she could finish Jaune grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. Ruby was shocked by the sudden action, but she hugged him back and let her blubbering burst forth once more.

"We can't find Pyrrha, Ruby," Jaune spoke drawing looks of concern from Nora and Ren. "Ozpin says she's fine and I trust him, but before she disappeared there was clearly something that was bothering her that she didn't share with us…Ruby, you aren't alone, we're here for you, please don't keep secrets from your friends, don’t push us away."

Ruby dug her fingers into Jaune’s hoody and held him tight, knowing he needed her for support as much as she needed him.

“I’m here for you too Jaune, don’t forget that” she whispered back to him.

* * *

**Present Ruby**

He was already moving by the time the thought registered in Ruby's head, they all were. No weapon checks, no asking for confirmation, no seeking help, they were ready to go as soon as they heard. Well, ready isn't exactly the right word for what they were, and Ruby knew it. She had to use her speed to get between team JN_R and the door.

"Guys wait!" she said before a shiver ran through her body and she lost her breath for a second there. She really shouldn't have used her semblance right then, her aura was still struggling to return. She shouldn't have done that, but she needed to. "Oh, Dust…. You can't just go racing out there"

When she’d recovered, she risked a glance at Jaune’s face, she expected to see a broken man filled with worry, and that was present but she also saw anger in the furrow of his brow and the glint of his eye. She wasn’t used to seeing that there and she wasn’t sure where Jaune’s anger was really focused.

“Ruby…” Jaune began before Ruby cut him off.

"Jaune! Nora! Ren! You can't just go running off without a plan" She gestured to herself and the rest of her team. "We were blitzed by Yang and got destroyed, you guys want to just throw yourself at HER with even less of a plan than us, with no reconnaissance whatsoever"

A guilty shameful look spread over Nora’s face and Ren held her close in response, Ruby was happy with that reaction. She was less happy with Jaune’s, his glare grew stronger and he started to shake with fury.

“I can’t just sit here and do nothing!” he spat right at Ruby. “Pyrrha’s here and we can…”

“Do what?” Ruby interrupted again, stepping closer to her fellow leader. “Help her have a mental breakdown and toss you around Vacuo like a pinball? Cause that’s what’s gonna happen.”

“Ruby” Weiss began with a placating tone.

"No Weiss! He needs to hear this before I have to lose another friend" she felt incredibly woozy and yet still found the strength to meet Jaune's eye and match his glare. The starring contest seemed to last for hours when in reality it probably only lasted a minute or two until finally, Jaune broke. He let out a furious snarl and smashed his fist against the bed's metal frame, denting it.

He flopped down into a nearby chair and held his head in his hands looking only at the floor. Ruby gave Ren and Nora one last silver stare down making sure they wouldn’t run off and the shame written on their face set her mind at ease. Turning away from them, she walked forward on legs she was worried would give out with each step. Suddenly a tiny black glyph appeared like a crown on her head and she found walking easier.

_Thanks, Weiss_ she thought giving her partner a calm smile before walking over to stand next to the hunched over Jaune. He wouldn't look at her, finding the floor to be more interesting at that moment, which was fine for Ruby. She ran her fingertips lightly over his back in small circles.

When she spoke her voice was calm and soothing. “Jaune. We’ll get Pyrrha back” he relaxed slightly underneath her touch. “But if we lose ourselves in the pursuit of her, then what good are we?”

When she looked up from Jaune she saw Blake’s yellow eyes looking at her strangely with the tiniest hint of suspicion. Though as soon as their vision met, Blake looked away. Ren and Nora were back on the bench clearly listening but almost enclosed around one another. Penny bless her soul was looking up at the ceiling trying her best to give the two leaders some privacy.

_She still has a long way to go before she gets all those mannerisms down_. Ruby thought smiling back at the beautiful Robot girl, but when her eyes fell upon Weiss she saw her doing that same odd thing; gently brushing her finger on her bottom lip. _What happened between her and Yang?_

Searching for answers to that conundrum would have to wait, as Jaune stood up body still trembling, he turned to face Ruby. Any rage that was once on his face had diminished and though there was some serious hesitation on his visage it was clear he was ready to make a plan and not run off. _Thank dust._

“You’re right Ruby. You’re right” he said more defeated than Ruby had hoped for. “What do we do now then?”

Releasing a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding she flopped down into Jaune’s vacated chair. Her whole body was incredibly sore she realized she shouldn’t have neglected her cookies. But who could blame her for not being hungry, her stomach had been roiling after her fight with Yang with the excitement of it all, the guilt over Weiss’ injury and… and…

_And something I can’t even admit to myself_ she thought trying to bring her racing heart rate down with her aura, it was a technique her father had taught her and it always worked like a charm. The rest of the room waited patiently for Ruby to recover herself, they'd all been through Aura overexertion before and knew how exhausted one could be post-exertion. Team JN_R, in particular, had the decency to at least look like they felt guilty for their would be splitting.

“The Plan… the plan is.. oh dust” Ruby mumbled struggling to keep her head up and her eyes open.

“Penny” Weiss’ voice cut through. “if you would be so kind”

“Understood!”

Ruby had to smile at Penny's chipper voice, the Atlessian girl was always a source of joy for the redhead and even in these dark days, she was always glad for her company. Despite who she was officially loyal to. When the soft smell of cookies hit Ruby's nose she opened her eyes and saw that The robot girl was holding the full plate but an inch from her face.

Smiling at Penny Ruby wolfed down the cookies pausing only to thank the atlessian

"So the plan. It would be best to keep distance from Pyrrha and Atlas forces in general." Penny looked taken aback but Ruby's grin washed those fears away. "Present company excluded. In fact, keeping Penny close might help us"

And just like that, the tiny little robit was awash with joyful energy that seemed to radiate off her. Team JN_R had that mutinous look on their face but kept silent which Ruby found she preferred. 

“Because of Blake’s message, our investigation was interrupted before it had a chance to really get going” Ruby continued “So going back to those sources might help us”

“What message?” Blake interrupted.

“The one you sent us before you fell unconscious. You told us Yang was heading north” Weiss responded snatching her own finger away from her bottom lip. Blake’s look of confusion only worsened and Ruby knew her ear would be twitching like crazy were it not for the hood pressing down in it.

“I never sent any message!” Blake insisted. Then it hit Ruby.

"Yang's hacked Blake's scroll," she said with a dry laugh. "She has access to all our messages"

“It would be best if we removed the bug and cleared our phones” Ren offered “Or at least develop a code for when we communicate over scrolls.”

“Yes to the latter no to the former” Weiss interjected scratching on her bandaged area piquing Ruby’s morbid curiosity as to what lay beneath it. “we can turn this bugging to our advantage. So long as she can’t hear us through the scroll…”

“We can feed her false information” Blake finished for Weiss. “So long as we give her enough accurate information, she shouldn’t get too suspicious”

"Right!" and suddenly Weiss and Blake were in their counterintelligence back and forth talks, Ren would occasionally interject and Jaune would keep them focused. Ruby was satisfied to just sit off to the side and eat cookies. _Sometimes the best thing a leader can do is take a step back and trust their team._

She smiled, she had pride in her team, broken though it was, and was glad she’d been assigned to it. The smile dissipated when a dark cloud found it’s home in her mind. She motioned over to Penny while the rest of the room was deep in their own planning. The Atlas specialist, who’d been ignoring the code planning under the impression that to eavesdrop on such an event would be committing a social faux pas, squatted down next to Ruby and lent in close.

“Yes Ruby?” she whispered, Ruby couldn’t help but notice how Penny always had the faint scent of gun oil on her, a fragrance Ruby had always enjoyed. Rather than sit there intoxicated by the pleasant smell Ruby set herself to the dark task.

"How is she, Penny?" Ruby asked making sure Jaune couldn't hear her. Penny broke eye contact with Ruby, clear nervousness on her features. "How far gone is she?"

“According to Atlas reports, Pyrrha is operating at near 100% operational efficiency” She still didn’t meet Ruby’s gaze.

“but what does your gut say?” Ruby said poking Penny’s midsection. Penny looked at her confused until the confusion gave way to caring and finally to slight concern.

“Mentally she’s stabilized, and they are correct about her operational efficiency, but… She is still fighting to be the only mind in her body” Penny massaged her right arm and a grim suspicion snuck into Ruby’s mind. “She lashes out often and the cruelty is great. How her stability will fair when she encounters her old team again is anyone’s guess”

Ruby let that fact mull in her mind for a second, it was a healthy rumination and her mind often fell on Pyrrha’s mental state after the Vytal festival and what her ‘big reveal’ did to team JN_R. This was not an issue she could hold off indefinitely but Yang’s capture came first, especially considering what might happen if she and Pyrrha clashed. She let out a tired sigh before offering Penny a cookie from her plate. The Android, despite not needing to eat, politely wolfed down the confectionary delight.

"I've missed you, Penny," Ruby said playing with a few strands of Penny's long hair. "I love what you've done with your hair"

Wiping crumbs from her face Penny greeted Ruby with as warm a smile as possible. "I've missed you too Ruby and thanks, the aura-conducting synthetic hair actually grows on its own if I focus a little aura into it every other day."

Ruby had to giggle at the pride her friend had shown in the simple act of growing hair, but each passing day Penny strived to be more and more human in little ways. Penny looked confused before chuckling along. Both girls were laughing to themselves when Weiss stood in front of them, Blake's scroll in hand.

“Yeah Weiss?” Ruby asked cookie held in the corner of her mouth.

"We just want you to check the bug to see what it might be capable of" Weiss handed the Scroll to Ruby, with a quick practiced motion Ruby pried the back off the scroll and began examining its insides. Sure enough, a tiny black chip was embedded into the scroll's internal components. Ruby recognized the make of the chip and after a few interjections from Penny, identified which components of the scroll it was accessing.

“She’s watching all our messages and can send messages under the guise of Blake.” Ruby reconstructed the scroll herself before handing it back to Blake. “But she can’t listen in on us.”

“Well thank goodness for that!” Nora all but shouted. “I’m sorry but I can’t help but blabber some days”

Ren closed his eyes and gently patted the top of Nora's head. Jaune stifled a laugh before turning back to Ruby.

"So what's the plan, Ruby?" Ruby voraciously wolfed down the last cookie, before standing back up, no longer on shaking legs. She gestured Ren and Nora "You two will investigate the, ew, brothel." She pointed to Jaune and Blake. "You guys will keep a low profile and see what you can do about getting us some desert capable land transport." She looked at Penny excitedly and they gave a brief worried look to Weiss. "Weiss, Penny and I will give Atlas all the help we can offer" she practically dripped with sarcasm at those words. "After that, we'll stop by the CCT and-"

The tent flap leading to their room opened up and 2 large men in bounty hunting attire entered in.

“You sure this is the place?” One spoke while scratching his stubble.

“Sure is mate” the other bumped his friend with his shoulder and pointed right at Blake. “Well miss Belladonna, is it? We’re here for that bounty on your sweet little 4 eared head”

_That was quick. _Ruby grumbled with ever mounting annoyance, the bounty hunters were already on Blake’s tail, turns out Atlas had already issued a bounty on her. To make matters worse Ruby could barely stand let alone fight, they were all out of it so how was she-

In an instant Weiss sprung forward Glyph-gauntleted hands grabbed hold of the bounty-hunters necks, lifted them up and slammed them into the ground so hard everything shook. She roared into their faces, making both grizzled hunters flinch away in terror as they struggled to regain breath. Weiss had moved so fast her bandage had torn away from her scarred eye and cheek exposed, her face was a bit of a mess, the wound had yet to fully heal and was a scabby mass that crossed over her old scar, the eye itself had been a bit damaged and as such the Pupil was a tiny pinprick and the sclera was filled with red.

The red-eye reminded Ruby too much of Yang and for a second, she cowered away from Weiss. Luckily the ex-heiress hadn't seen that motion too focused on the two hunters before her.

“Listen here swine” she muttered to them in the most condescending tone that would have Jacque Schnee himself say that was a bit much. “Tell the rest of your ilk that regardless of how much the pathetic bounty pays, all members of team R.W.B.Y! are off limits. If I catch you gutter trash near any members of my team again, I’ll leave you in full body casts for a full year”

It was Blake who pulled Weiss back, grabbing her shoulder and prying her off the downed hunters.

“Weiss” she whispered “It’s fine, I’m Ok”

Weiss didn’t look away as the hunters scrambled to their feet and gave Blake a nod of gratitude for saving their neck.

"We better get moving," Weiss said through gritted teeth. "More will come, always more"

Weiss grabbed Mrytnaster and exited out the tent flap. Ruby followed after her with Penny not far behind her. _Oh Weiss, what happened between you and Yang?_

* * *

**2 years ago**

The Forge-works was practically empty. It had been a couple hours since the confrontation between team CRDL and Ruby Rose, and most people had filed out of the room after that awkward standoff. Cardin had been ready to throw down, heck his whole team had been ready to back him up in that fight, but they had to admit the odds weren’t exactly with them. Cardin was a powerhouse no doubt and his team weren’t slouches, but they’d barely made it to the second round of the Vytal festival while team JNPR almost cruised through it. 

Jaune would have gone down easy, but that Nora girl would have broken a limb or two before the fight was over, the Mistralian dude was a precise fighter and would have offset any weaknesses the thunder-chick might possess. Finally, there was the grade-skipper, the whole team had seen her beat Cardin's ass like he owed her money, dust half the school had seen it and they weren't exactly prepped to throw down against that while she was going nuts. Well, not when she had her back up dancers with her at least.

“Hey Cardin” Russell Thrush was busy on the grinding stone sharpening his daggers and he didn’t look up from his work when he shouted to his partner. Cardin was napping on a work table and opened one of his eyes, giving Russell a grunt to alert him to his wakefulness. “What’s the plan now”

Cardin rolled off the table into a push-up position before launching himself to his feet, Sky and Dove just rolled their eyes at their leader’s random display of machismo. Cracking his neck before lounging against one of the high tables again, Cardin made it clear he was going to take his time with his explanation.

“Way I see it, we’re not the only ones who’ve got beef with team Rube over there” his team nodded in agreement, remembering the encouragement they got from their fellow students right before JNPR showed their ugly mugs. “I say we start asking around, finding who else is tired of their BS and who’d be willing to say or do something about it. Hell might as well ask those Atlas exchange students, they probably hate her as much as we do.”

There were sneers all around. Dove spoke up adjusting the firing mechanism of his sword gun. “That’ll take a while, not sure I can wait that long” the rest of the team murmured in agreement.

Cardin blew out an overly exaggerated breath before shaking his head in mock disappointment. "Oh, what am I gonna do with you boys. Fine we'll wait till little red is without her bodyguards and then we'll give her the first of many lessons to come"

Suddenly a loud creak filled the near-empty room and all of team CRDL turned to see someone standing in the forge works door frame. Their hearts raced as for a moment they thought it was a teacher looking in on them until they saw how short the newcomer was.

Weiss Schnee was silent as she slowly walked into the forge-works, her little glare locked on team CRDL. Russel took his knife off the grindstone and the rest of the team fingered their personal weapons with sneers on their faces.

"What's up Schnee?" Cardin called out. Weiss didn't answer instead setting her teeny tiny Rapier on one of the many vacant work tables. "OOOOOOOHHHHH! We're shaking in our boots. The little Heiress has her tiny sword"

"You gonna fuck us up, Schnee?" Dove shouted.

“Or are you gonna just throw money at us, till we go away?” Sky retorted.

The whole team roared with laughter, the small atlas girl gave them a contemptuous sneer before reaching up and pulling off the sleeves and back of her dress. Whistles and woos were shouted at her from team CRDL.

“Oh is that it?” Cardin asked. “That’s your plan for getting us to back off of your little leader. Alright I’m game, but this is-”

“You just love to talk” Weiss cut him off her voice as contemptuous as her glare. She raised her arms over her head and stretched them out, almost ignoring the 4 boys in the room with her. “You love to hear words just pour out of your mouth, don’t you? Just saying shit that makes your idiot friends clap and go yay! Used to put up the same bs from the other girls back in Atlas. Much more refined, mind you, but still it’s all the same”

Cardin snarled and opened his mouth to send back a cutting barb before Weiss cut him off yet again.

“So before you little debutantes continue with your tea time gossip and posturing, I’d just like you to know” She retrieved Mrytenaster and spun the chamber with clear disinterest in her present audience. “That I completely out-class you”

She lifted her rapier and gave them the fencer's salute. The vein on Cardin's head looked like it was about to burst he was so angry, his annoyance was infectious as the rest of team CRDL were lifting their weapons in preparation. Sky Lark was the first to speak in a last-ditch effort to defuse the situation.

“Well Schnee, I don’t think 4 on 1 are too favorable odds for yah” she just looked at him like he was the biggest imbecile on the block. “Wouldn’t want to mess up that pretty face of yours now would we?”

"4 to one only matters if all involved parties are equals" she pointed her rapier at the floor and its runes seemed to glow. "and you seemed to have missed my point about our different Classes Mr. Lark"

“Well you know-“ before his retort could leave his mouth a giant glowing blue fist emerged from the floor and upper-cutted him in his unprotected chin. Sky Lark was launched through the air and landed in an unconscious heap.

The rest of team CRDL activated their Aura and stared at the enormous fist reaching out of a rotating snow-white glyph. With a flick of her wrist, the Glyph moved through the air and hovered right over Weiss' shoulder. Resettling into her en garde position Weiss gave them a disdainful look of expectation.

“He didn’t have his aura up!” Cardin spat right at her, Weiss only shrugged.

“Then he should have raised it.”

“Listen you bi-“ again Weiss struck at them midsentence, she launched herself forward in a similar manner to her sister and idol, Mrytnaster thrust and punched against the aura guarding Cardin’s cheek, he began to lift his mace to bash the point away, but as he moved Weiss slashed at his knees while her glyph-arm grabbed the head of Cardin’s mace. As Cardin fell to one knee Weiss launched a Rising thrust into his chin knocking him back.

Carried by the momentum of her thrust Weiss summoned yet another Glyph above her and launched herself down at the rotund Dove Bronzewich. The poor little bully swung his sword right at her but his fencing skills were well beneath hers. She thrust towards his chest, and when he tried to parry the blade away, she merely ducked the point below his blade and back to its original position striking him in the chest. Russel Thrush took advantage of Weiss' apparent preoccupation with the smaller Dove and tried to kangaroo boot her in the face, only for his feet to land right in the grip of a giant gauntleted fist. Parrying another pathetic Swipe Weiss sent her will to the Glyph fist that lifted Russel Thrush in response and slammed him face first into a nearby desk.

She swiped away all of Dove’s cuts and ignored his obvious feints before striking at him again and again till his measly aura broke. Weiss didn't stop at the Aura breaking though and gave the round little wretch a small cut on the ear, eliciting an unmanly shriek from the runt. Behind her she heard a table shift as someone picked themselves off the ground and with no real sense of urgency, she turned to face a slightly bedraggled Cardin. Russel tried to get up before his head was slammed into the table once more with a quick flick of a giant Glyph wrist. Weiss didn't even look back as Russel fell into unconsciousness, her real target was right in front of her.

Cardin was rubbing his sore chin while keeping a clear eye on the hovering gauntleted fist. A smirk came over his bruised face in spite of his rather dire predicament. He took the Mace in both hands in a guarded position facing Weiss. Weiss frowned, she'd expected him to rush at her after her assault on his team and then she'd tear him apart with her new-found summoning ability. Ah well, Weiss was nothing if not adaptable.

"I've figured it out Schnee," Cardin said still waiting for Weiss to make the next move. "You can't hold your little ‘ghost' over there for long, things gotta be really eating into your aura right about now."

He wasn't wrong and she would almost consider applauding him for his cleverness, were it not for the fact that she despised his guts. The Glyph arm was eating at her aura in spades because of how unrefined her technique with it was. So with a sigh, the arm vanished and Weiss wiped her brow.

“That’s better” Cardin rubbed his chin. “You got a few good licks in Schnee, but my aura ain’t that piss weak”

He hefted the Mace into a more aggressive stance and Weiss prepared herself for his assault. “…and you’re running out of yer own Aura.”

He charged at her swinging the mace upwards right at Weiss’ chin, she sprung away and over the many desks within the forge. Cardin just like a buffalo simply pushed the desks aside and barreled through them. Every now and then he’d stumble in his mad dash to get her and Weiss would strike out slashing a few cuts against Cardin’s Aura before fading back again. Cardin for all his brutishness was also quick to adapt after the 3rd hit and run method he feinted a stumble and when Weiss dove in he managed to knock her feet out from under her.

She collapsed to the floor in as ungraceful a manner as was possible, banging her head on the corner of a desk as she fell. Taking full advantage of her tumble Cardin struck at her with the backswing of his mace, Weiss lifted Myrtnaster to block the assault but was hit with dismay what the flanges of Cardin's mace hooked her rapiers guard and ripped it out of her hands. The sword sailed across the room and landed well out of Weiss' reach.

"You know what, new plan" Cardin chortled to no one in particular. "Maybe I'll drop your beaten ass right in front of the grade skipper just to give her a preview of what's to come"

Weiss said nothing, though her fury was evident, she simply held her wrist and glared at Cardin.

“What Schnee? No witty retort? No high society insult for us lower classes?” He lifted the mace again. “You’re taking the fun out of this”

He swung the mace, and there was a blinding flash of blue-white light and the familiar ring of steel on steel echoed through the forge-works. Gripped in Weiss’ hand was a glowing blue broadsword and it was holding Cardin’s mace at bay. Taking full advantage of his shock, Weiss let the Mace slide off her Glyph blade before slamming it like a hammer onto Cardin’s head.

His Aura cracked.

Then she hit him again.

And again. And again. She struck at him till his Aura cracked and then she smacked him about with the flat of her new blade.

“I give!” Cardin whimpered. “I give”

Weiss glowered at the former bully and the rest of his slowly waking up team. She let the Glyph blade vanish away, before daintily retrieving her rapier and sleeves. She gave the unprotected Cardin a good kick before turning to face the rest of the groaning team CRDL.

"Now I want you to remember this" she spoke in a calm matronly voice as she addressed her victims. "Anyone who comes after Ruby Rose, from this day forth will receive a similar if only slightly more severe, treatment than what you've received today. Got it?"

Turning away she brought up Mrytnaster and placed its point on Cardin's chest-plate, She squatted down to be closer to the tall boy's face so none but him would hear her whisper.

"If I so much as catch you glaring at Ruby again, or if I hear a faint rumor about you planning to hurt her again, I can promise you, the Grimm themselves will weep when they find your body" She let real terror flow over Cardin's face before standing back up. Weiss almost scoffed at how insane she sounded, she wouldn't kill these idiots even if they did hurt Ruby, but these were crazy times and they needed to believe her warnings.

She was just exiting the Forge-works and was so busy putting on her sleeves that she almost ran into Professor Goodwitch. Weiss let out a small yelp, jumped back and stood at attention, unfortunately with only one sleeve fully on, the other was hanging loose behind her back.

“Professor!” Glynda simply gave her a raised eyebrow and looked past Weiss into the forge-works and saw a beaten team CRDL groggily rising back to their feet.

“Ms.Schnee, please relax you’re not in the military” Weiss let her stance loosen as Goodwitch’s command.

_Not in the military. _She thought with a sour hint of cynicism in her inner thoughts. _I wouldn’t be so sure about that._

Goodwitch glanced at team CRDL and back to Weiss, making sure the ex-heiress knew that she’d seen them. Weiss swallowed deeply, despite her previous conviction she was nervous about the possible punishments

"Walk with me" Glynda ordered before walking down the hall head held high. Weiss always admired Glynda's form and a part of her modeled many of her techniques after the beacon combat teacher. "I see you've just gone a round or two with team CRDL" she didn't turn around to look at Weiss when she spoke. "Care to explain why"

"They threatened Ruby earlier today and were planning on attacking her later" Glynda didn't turn back, instead choosing to continue walking.

“Why not inform a teacher about this?” she asked a hint of bitterness in her tone. What the bitterness was aimed at Weiss could only guess at. “Instead of taking matters into your own hands”

“I’m sorry professor, but you and the other teachers have been a bit preoccupied with the Grimm to concern yourself over issues of bullying, no matter how extreme it might be.” Weiss had her excuses she had her reasonings and they were all true in some sense but at the end of the day there was only one true reason behind her action. “We students need to watch out for ourselves and hold each other accountable”

At that Glynda did stop and look back at Weiss giving her a look that wasn't exactly approval and not entirely disagreement. The stare lasted for a minute or two as if she was trying to break through Weiss' half-truths to get at the reality of the matter. Then she simply nodded and continued walking.

"Don't let it happen often and restrain it to aura breaks." she said with a tired sigh. For a second Weiss was taken aback, she hadn't expected, this incident to go without punishment, in fact, part of her was looking forward to her righteous detention, a really tiny part mind. Then another idea snaked its way into Weiss' mind; she'd been right in her assessment of the difficulties the teachers faced and how the beacon student body would have to look after it's own. Instead of vocalizing any of these emotions Weiss merely nodded in response. They walked for another few minutes or so before Glynda split off and Weiss headed back to her dorm.

Weiss cracked open the door and was treated to the sight of Ruby reassembling Crescent Rose on the rooms repurposed desk. She looked up at Weiss and gave her a soft smile that swiftly turned very concerned.

“Weiss what happened to you?” Ruby asked still effortlessly reassembling her sniper-scythe.

Weiss looked down at herself and turned a shade of humiliating red as she saw the mess she was in. She still had only one sleeve on, there was a bruise or two forming on her exposed arm and her hair was in a state of disarray. She let out a tired sigh and merely stripped the sleeve off and fixed her hair as best she could without a mirror. Ruby still looked at her expecting an answer of some kind. It was a kind gesture and Weiss was ever grateful to have friends who cared like her.

The real problem was deciding whether to lie or not about ‘what happened’ to her. _Keeping secrets rarely helps._

“I just had a run in with Team CRDL” she struggled to get her hair locked properly in her side-pony tail. “I thought it would be best to teach them proper manners.”

Weiss let out a huff, her hair was just deciding to be particularly obstinate. Ruby pulled up a chair and motioned for Weiss to sit down, obliging her team leader Weiss sat and Ruby began pulling her hair into place with practiced hands.

_She’s done this before._ Weiss thought. _On more insane hair than mine._

“Weiss that kinda in fighting might spread negativity” Ruby said as she combed a few knots out of Weiss’ ivory locks. “Might make the Grimm situation worse”

“So would any of Cardin’s little schemes if they were allowed to continue” Weiss countered wincing as a particularly annoy knot came loose. “And no one gets to step on my teammates and just avoid any serious consequences.”

Ruby’s brushing stopped and she pulled Weiss into a hug from behind burying her face in Weiss’ now loose hair. Weiss felt a bit awkward by the closeness but decided it would be best to hug her leader back.

“Thank you Weiss” Weiss patted the back of Ruby’s head. Remembering her promise to Yang.

“It’s what teammates are for”

A knock on the dorm door caused both girls to split apart. Weiss gripped Myrtnaster in her hand as Ruby calmly approached the door. When she opened it a tall lanky man with a small red cape stood in the door frame.

“Uncle Qrow?” Ruby’s head tilted in puzzlement. “I haven’t seen you since… well I haven’t seen you for weeks. Where’ve you been?”

Her uncle scratched the back of his head and scanned the room before settling on Weiss. They stared each other down for a second before he shrugged and walked into the dorm closing the door behind him.

“Ruby, I have news about Yang”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry for the lateness, I'll endeavor to update regularly. Also this has a TV tropes page


	27. Sunrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang as a moment to herself and her thoughts

The sun rose over the horizon, basking the grand desert of Vacuo in a warm golden orange glow. The light-struck Yang's exposed face as she sat on the plateau's edge her feet hanging off the precipice. Her mask was off and resting next to her as she looked at the rising sun, she never enjoyed taking it off except in this moment; sunrise. She couldn't explain it, maybe it had something to do with Summer and the cliff at home, regardless she loved the sunrise and felt the light wash away the cold.

Well, wash away most of the cold.

She’d been up for about an hour before dawn. Yang wasn’t fully recovered but she was able to throw herself back into her recently neglected exercise routine before dawn broke. She’d finished her last set of cliff-hang pull-ups just in time to prep herself for the sunrise. The adrenaline was dying down, her pain had subsided, the mask was off and the sunrise were all giving Yang an uncomfortable clarity at that moment.

_I messed them up_. She brought up her legs and hugged her knees, thinking back to her fights with Blake, Ruby, and Weiss. Each fight got progressively harder as Yang faced them, not just physically but emotionally. Her eyes shifted to her mask with a look of longing in them. _It helps but somethings just get through._

This wasn’t the first time she’d thought about her old team and what happened to them after the Vytal festival but never were they so fresh in her mind and in such a moment of clarity. She thought about her partner, the Faunus whom she had just exposed to the world, after a vicious beating. She thought of her little sister stuck in the fight of her life and how she'd been willing to beat Ruby into submission. And finally, she thought of Weiss, their kiss, their fight and how Yang had struck her in the same place her father had. She wanted to throw up.

The king Taijitu of regret had started worming its way into Yang’s mind, but this wasn’t her first moment of clarity nor was it the first time she’d thought about her team. Blake had that coming, for her own hypocrisy during the Vytal festival and Yang needed to hold RWB back with something while she made her escape. Atlas would make a fuss but the likelihood of Blake getting permanently incarcerated was minimal.

Ruby wasn’t going to quit that fight unless Yang knocked her lights out, not to mention Yang was on her own last legs and was getting as good as she gave. A tiny spike of adrenaline hit the bruiser as flashes of that fight came back. _And for an instant. _Yang thought warmly. _I thought I saw Ruby smile._

That fight, as brutal as it was, dragged Yang’s mind to their sparring younger years and some part suspected the same was going through Ruby’s head as well. The battle started in hate but evolved to something purer.

Yang could not reconcile what happened with Weiss. Even her flimsy excuse of _It was an accident_ did nothing to alleviate the nausea in her gut as the hit played again and again in her head. That memory was intermingled with flashes of their kiss on the roof and a wanting mixed with her nausea. It was like starving and yet despising the sight of food at the same time.

She wanted to put the mask back on, but the sun was still rising and while that happens her head would remain bare.

“Why did this have to happen” she muttered into her knees.

“Apparently Sunrises happen every day” the snark jerked Yang out of her reflection and self-loathing. _Thank dust for Roman Torchwick. (a phrase Torchwick says into the mirror every morning)_. She turned back to give the thief a red-eyed glare. Roman was without his signature hat and jacket and was stretching out in the morning sun, his arms were bare and toned perfectly if you were into that sorta thing and despite clearly just waking up he lacked any evidence of bed head. “So what are you brooding about dragon lady?”

“The fact that I have to brush my hair a thousand times each day while yours just naturally looks like that” she grumbled letting the half-truth hide her real feelings. Roman went along with the ruse running his fingers through his bright red hair, taking great pleasure in the fact that it always stayed in form. _Maybe that’s his semblance._

“Thank you, it's always a burden being this fantastic” his smile drooped only a hair’s breadth. “Speaking of which. Does mommy dearest have an actual plan for this hit or is that going to be left up to me again?”

Yang turned away from the ‘criminal mastermind’ back to the slowly rising sun. “I get to finish him” she muttered. Roman’s eyes shifted from filled with sleep to wide open in an instant, or at least his left eye did it was hard to see his right eye from behind his hair.

“Oh ho ho” he crooned as he sauntered over to the brooding young woman. “Ready to move up with the big boys are yah?”

He leaned into Yang's vision holding himself dangerously close to the plateau's edge. Yang considered kicking his feet out and pushing him off. "What's the matter, Yang, tired of just delivering the fingers?"

“If anyone deserves to hit Ironwood it’s me” Roman placed his hand on his chest and looked utterly shocked, shocked I tell you.

“Really? You have more reason than anyone?” he spoke in the most condescending tone. “I mean it’s not like he left me in solitary confinement for months on end, only pulling me out for intense interrogations.”

“Fine your right, we all want a piece of him and have good enough reasons for it” Yang stood up and glared at the taller man she was fairly sure she could punch into the rock like a tent-peg. “Do you want to be the one to do it, Roman?”

“Doing that sorta dirty work isn’t my style sweetheart” he turned away from Yang and like a door opening Neo appeared leaning against Roman’s back also wearing less than normal and slightly more than normal. Neo’s arms were exposed and almost glistened in the Orange sun glow, her hair was loose poofing around her and atop her head sat Roman’s signature hat.

Yang would have found Neo enticingly attractive were it not for the fact she knew how utterly crazy the ice-cream girl was underneath. _Remember what dad said about Crazy._ Neo gave Yang a sultry smile and a wink that didn’t so much titillate Yang as put her in the mindset of a mouse placed in front of a cat with psychopathic tendencies.

Neo pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out at Yang dispelling the seductive aura around her. Yang stuck her tongue back at her before addressing Roman again.

“Really, you’d trust Neo with this job?” Neo looked insulted and Roman actually glared at Yang, like an honest glare.

“I trust Neo completely” Roman growled. “I’d trust her with my life. No! I’d trust her with my money!”

He said that last bit with great pomp and circumstance that Yang let out a little snort. She continued laughing when she saw Neo holding up Roman’s wallet from behind his back. The wallet vanished behind Neo’s back as Roman turned around, the Outlaw gave the little assassin a smirk and retrieved his hat from her pink and brown head.

“Well keep your brooding for later, there’s Grimm about” he flipped the hat back onto his head practiced precision. “And Raven’ll want a report from yah”

He tossed Yang her scroll, and she caught it one-handed. She brushed her finger over the closed case, she was hesitating, why was she hesitating? She trusted her mother more than anyone, but she was worried about how her fight with her team had affected her… and was nervous about the request she had in mind. 

She grabbed her Grimm mask, plucked the chip from it and set it atop her head, being sure to leave her face exposed for Raven to see. The mask brought back her calm despite this; her whole body was vibrating with anticipation and with apprehension, she opened the scroll. Plugging the chip in she saw the familiar clockwork wing appear on screen for a brief instant before she began her message.

**Y: Mom, can you talk?**

There was a long minute before Yang got a response.

**R: give me a minute.**

The response was simple, direct and without any overt malice and yet Yang still felt a sense of overwhelming dread. It was like seeing a storm come in over the horizon while you were in a tiny dinky boat. The boat was gonna sink. Yang recited her mantras, controlled her breathing and focused into her Grimm mask just a tiny bit.

And yet her heart rate still went into overdrive when Raven's face appeared on her scroll's screen. She'd rested the scroll on something, there were a few splashes of blood on Raven's clothes and her Grimm mask was full over her face. Yang was certain that wasn't her mother's blood.

Yang swallowed deeply before she began. "The mission was a complete success, as I told you over text the other day and I managed to get myself out of vacuo and into the dunes on schedule," Raven said nothing. "I informed Roman and Neo of our greater mission at hand and I-"

“Yang” Raven’s quiet calm voice cut Yang off mid-sentence, Yang froze and looked her mother in her mask’s eyes. “You didn’t ask me to talk just to give in a report”

Yang nervously scratched the back of her head and resisted the urge to look away from Raven’s stare. She blew out a tired sigh before resigning herself to her confession.

“The rest of team RWBY were after me” Raven remained silent, she stayed silent as Yang explained everything about her interactions with her team, leaving bits out like the kiss with Weiss and her goading Ruby to fight harder for fear of Raven’s reprimand. The mask held back the tears and more annoying emotions but she was certain that what she felt was clear to her mother. “… and then Weiss was just there and my fist launched out and… I hit her mom, just like her piece of shit father and I think I might have even taken out an eye.”

She couldn’t disguise her shame, she knew that if she tried to hide it behind revelry she’d vomit. She knew that without the mask and her training she’d be a blubbering mess right now and she felt so small and pathetic in front of the one person she knew she couldn’t be weak in front of. To make the matter worse she felt a hot tear run down one cheek. _And the humiliation is complete._

Raven for her part just stood there and took it all in, slowly she reached up and removed her own mask from her head. There was judgment in Raven's eyes as she looked at Yang and deeper emotions that even Yang couldn't decipher. _Just how mom likes it._

“So much like your father” Raven muttered cryptically. Yang looked away from her mom and flicked away the single tear. “And so much like me.”

Yang looked back at her mother keeping her shock hidden from her face. Raven let out a tired sigh, drumming her fingers on her blood-stained mask. She remained silent for an uncomfortable while, and Yang decided to take advantage of the lull and present her mother with her proposal.

“I want to be the one who does it” Raven looked up at her daughter as if waking up from a dream, there was confusion on her face evident from the quirk of her brow. “I want to be the one who kills Ironwood”

Yang had expected many different things, she’d played the scenario over and over again in her head, looking at the different outcomes and what she would do in response to them. She’d planned for if Raven was jubilant about the idea, or if she was disappointed with the idea and even if she thought Yang was too weak to go through with it. Each one hurt slightly to imagine but it was necessary.

“**You** think yo**u’r**e ready?” Raven said her own voice tinged with the Grimm within her, Yang felt a slight chill come off from that voice. “This would be your first **kill** wouldn’t it?”

"Not exactly," Yang thought through the past 2 years through all the fights and battles and the blood-crazed hazes trying to find a point where she was certain she snapped. Then her mind shifted back to right after the Vytal festival and she was certain. "Well, it's the first ‘job’ at least."

“At least…” Raven muttered. “Are you ready?”

Yang felt her Helm growl on her skull and she thought back to all her years on the run, fearing being found by Ironwood and knowing what he and Ozpin were capable of when it came to perpetuating a lie. Her fingers dug into her shoulder at the memory of being called a monster, a freak, and a psycho while the real monsters were nipping at her heels… and the biggest monster of them all who’s song she heard in her helmet some days. Her eyes were blazing when they connected with Raven’s.

“I’m ready!” she stated with certainty. Raven merely nodded.

“So you say Daughter mine.” Raven sheathed Yureru and grabbed her scroll. “Start planning with Roman, I’ll send you the files Mr.Green sent us as per our arrangement. I have some loose ends to tie up then I’ll join you.”

Yang nodded to her mother, her body shaking with the adrenaline of what she'd just said and done. Despite herself, she felt nervous at the task ahead of her, and she knew her mother could sense those doubts Grimm-mask or no. She’d have to steel her resolve before she set herself to the Grimm task.

"See you soon mom" she mumbled before reaching to shut off the scroll.

"Yang" her mother's voice cut in, it sounded odd to her, a bit off in a way she couldn't pinpoint though it was completely different from how the Grimm's voice sounded. Yang looked at her mom and saw an apologetic look on her face. APOLOGETIC? From Raven Branwen? The heck was the world coming to?

"Mom?" Yang was more afraid of seeing that look on her mother than she'd ever been by the sight of Raven's anger. Raven ran her fingers through her hair as she struggled to find words, grabbing onto the hair around her scalp and pulling in frustration.

Raven let out a tired sigh and let go of her hair. “Nevermind Daughter mine, I’ll tell you when I get there”

And with that, she closed the connection. Yang felt ill at ease from that exchange and the shock did not vanish as she put away her scroll. She felt like she was shaking… she was shaking. Wait that's not right Yang wasn't shaking, the dirt beneath her feet was.

“Fuck!” she said as realization properly hit her. _Way to go, Yang, the negativity's really helping_. She cupped her hands around her mouth running towards Roman and Neo. “Olgoi-khorkhoi! DEATH-WORMS!”

And just like that a black and white worm as thick as her torso sprung out of the dirt and lunged right at Yang. Yang right hooked the Worm in the… Face-ish part. She’d removed Ember Celica 2.0 and left them on the ship while she went through her morning routine and was deeply regretting that choice at this particular moment. The worm recovered from the punch Yang delivered and whipped itself around smacking Yang with its disgusting girth.

Yang was flung back from the worm and her mind raced, considering whether it would be beneficial to go back to the ship to retrieve her gauntlets or to just deal with the worm right here and now. Olgoi or Vacuoian Death-worms were no joke and routinely devoured travelers who crossed the desert on foot. They were said to latch onto a victim and slowly drain their blood from their body feeding on the victims mounting fear and dread. Yang prided herself on once ripping an Olgoi’s head thing off with her teeth, but that was when she was at 100% and with EC on.

“Dammit! Why can’t things just be simple again” she spat, throwing caution to the wind and rushing the worm with her bare hands. She needed an outlet dammit and the Grimm were always there to oblige. As she hooked her fingers under the bone plate of one of the larger death worms her mind drifted back as the fight took over.

* * *

**Past Atlas ship**

Yang’s adrenaline was hammering in her head as she Raven and an unconscious Emerald scurried through the bowels of Ironwood’s ship. They’d been stalking through the ship for the better part of an hour now as they slowly avoided guards, security and the occasionally Atlesian knights. They had to stop every now and then to administer a knockout serum to the unconscious emerald to keep her quiet and out of it. It was all very covert, it was all very sneaky, and it was all not really Yang’s style.

But Yang was content, for her it was a chance to work with her mother and to show her what she was capable of. To make up for the years that they had to spend apart, that weren't entirely Raven's fault. Though she did have to admit this whole sneaky business was grating on her just a tiny bit, She was supposed to be flashy and explosive not hiding in vents and sleeper holding naval officers. The most recent would-be spotter's eyes rolled back in his head as the oxygen he needed to remain conscious was choked out of him by Yang's impossibly strong arms. After another few seconds of holding him, Yang slowly lowered him to the ground and pulled his unconscious form into a nearby locker. 

Raven was on watch nearby, eyes scanning the corridor, Emerald slung over her shoulder. She glanced back at Yang giving her daughter a nod of approval before they rushed through the Atlas ship. Raven had taken Emerald from Yang early on in their travels through the ship and left the responsibility of taking care of witnesses to Yang.

_Mom’s still testing me. _Yang noted as she ran using her Grimm senses along with her usually aura enhanced senses to spot possible encounters before they occurred. _And I’m glad to say I’m not letting her down._

As they approached another door a peculiar sound struck Yang’s ear, people working echoing through the room. She held her hand up and Raven stopped behind her. They knew they’d eventually have to pass through a workshop to get to Roman’s cell but Yang was unsure how to proceed. Before she could speak up Raven flung Emerald down onto Yang, who almost fumbled with the thief worried she’d grab the wrong part of her.

Raven slowly approached the door and Yang began moving to follow her when her dark-haired parent lifted her hand in a gesture that simply said: "Wait here". Yang obeyed squatting down and Raven slowly opened the door to the motor pool before slipping in like a shadow.

Yang waited for a moment and that moment seemed to stretch on for an eternity, time ticking by slower and slower as she waited for some sort of signal from her mother, be it a call, the sound of gunfire, the buzz a text or a knocking on her head. 

**Knock knock! **Yang looked up to see Raven’s hand sticking out of a portal and rapping against Yang’s Grimm mask. Yang couldn’t hold back her grin. Scooping up Emerald she stepped through the portal and into the room beyond the Motor pool. The room she entered was a long hall with dozens of little cells throughout with a gigantic window at the far end.

“Here” Raven whispered in a nigh inaudible volume grabbing Emerald from Yang’s shoulders. Yang simply stared at the enormous window and the picturesque view of Vale beneath it. “Yang!”

The 2nd sharper whisper knocked her out of her awe and she began checking cells. Her heart was racing in her head as she went from empty cell to empty cell, they could be caught any minute now. All it would take is some Atlas grunt walking into the wrong door for things to turn ugly and the mother-daughter pair would be forced to fight their way out.

_As fun as that sounds I’m not sure how far we’ll get._ Peering into one of the last cells she saw it, the red hair of the criminal mastermind himself Roman Torchwick. Yang gently tapped the cell and Raven joined her. Reaching up to the side of her mask Raven pullout out a small chip, plugged said chip into her scroll and then connected the scroll to a port by the doors lock.

“Keep watch Yang” she whispered again.

Yang did as her mother asked eyes jumping back and forth between the many doors. Her heart was hammering in her head and the sent of iron was mingling with the taste of Aura ozones. Yang was loving this. The excitement, the chance to be caught and that rotten core inside that told her she was getting back at those who tried to cage her. She heard the cell door slide open.

“Well it’s about ti-“ Roman’s voice came out as smooth a drawl as when she heard it last. Though the sudden stop he made upon seeing Raven did put a grin on her face. “Well, hello gorgeous”

_Smooth bastard_. Yang thought with some annoyance and a modicum of respect. Raven chose to say nothing, merely thumbing for him to get out.

“Are you one of Cinder’s new fri-“ again Raven silenced him, though this time it wasn't with her looks it was with her hand gripped around the crime lord's mouth. Roman glared at the hand before he noticed Raven holding her finger up where her lips would be. Nodding that he understood Raven removed her hand from his mouth.

Roman looked around the cell hall and caught sight of the unconscious Emerald left on the ground near his cell door. The surprise on his face only lasted a second before it was replaced by a knowing sneer, and when he turned from that he saw finally Yang.

_Does he recognize me?_ Yang couldn’t tell it wasn’t plain on his face and the emotions waving off him weren’t giving any obvious clues. _Well, we'll worry about that later._

Yang turned towards her mother expectantly only to receive a similarly expectant look in return.

_What? Am I supposed to do something?_ She started to walk toward the unconscious Emerald when Raven retrieved her and slung her over her own shoulders. _Ok, not Emerald duty. Then what?_ Raven was still giving her the expectant look and annoyance crept into Yang's mind. _What am I supposed to do Mom? I can’t ask cause you’ve yet to teach me that whisper talk trick ok._

Raven continued to stare, Roman seemed a bit impatient, occasionally checking the doors, and Yang was about to open her mouth to ask what the heck was going on. Then it dawned on her; Raven was waiting for Yang to direct them. _I’m running this mission? This is another test._

Dust that was a lotta pressure, Ruby was always good at this leadership thing, Yang was happy just being pointed in a direction and told to break things. She could handle a mission by herself but leading was a foreign concept to her. 

_I can’t do this._ She thought when Raven's hand gripped her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Roman had an awkward look on his face, recognizing his own third wheel status. Yang took a deep breath remembering the mantras her mom told her and focused on a plan.

** _The unorthodox works best against those bound by tradition_ **

Her eyes headed back to the giant glass window, she walked over to it and pressed her fingers against the glass, it was reinforced, but Yang was certain with the right amount of Aura she could break it. Pulling out her scroll she texted Neo the new plan and looked back at her mother, not looking for approval but motioned her to approach.

Raven did so, keeping Emerald locked tight on her shoulders. Roman saw that this was where the action was soon to be followed suit. It took a few seconds but eventually, a white and black Atlas transport ship moved in front of the open windows bay doors open. Roman flinched back while Raven merely watched her daughter.

The pilot had a rather impatient look on her own face as she blinked her pink and brown eyes. Yang ignored them all as she placed her hands on the window. She was testing a new technique, she focused her aura to her arms, skin, and hands before simply pressing on the glass. She began trying to master her aura, control it and shape it into something sharper and more focused.

Finally after a minute of pressing a crack split across the giant window’s surface. Yang had an idiotic grin on her face and was about to continue her efforts when the sound of a side door opening echoed through the room.

_Come on I was so close with this trick._ She didn’t bother turning around, instead unleashing her cestus, screaming out a roar and striking the center point of the long crack she’d etched into the stone. The Glass quickly spiderwebbed into a million pieces and launched out into the wind. The wind roared into the room almost blowing Yang and Roman over with its force._ Yeah, my old methods are still the funnest._

"WOW, where the heck was that a minute ago?" Roman shouted squinting into the wind, right before the alarm rung out and a metal blast door began to descend. "Oh Right"

Yang took hold of Roman and flung him at the ship, Raven leaped into the ship with much more grace and balance than the thrown thief had. Yang smirked before turning around to get one look of her witness before jumping backwards into the ship.

As she turned, she was brought face to maw with not an atlas grunt or specialist but a snow-white glowing Beowolf who's teeth were about an inch from her head. Jumping up she pressed her feet onto the unexpected creature's chest and kick off it towards her Evac, firing both of her wrist gauntlets into the beast as she did. The Grimm dissipated into flakes of snow and Yang was rocketed into the disguised bullhead.

Surprisingly it was Roman who caught her and stopped her from flying out the other door.

_What the heck was that? _That wasn’t a Grimm and Yang knew it, it felts like a Grimm and acted like a Grimm but Yang could tell it was something different. She turned to look back in the holding cell area to see what that thing was but the bullhead was already turning to leave.

Running to the open doors she stuck her head out to look back and as the ship sped away she was only able to catch a glimpse of a tall White haired Atlesian officer glaring at the swiftly disappearing ship.

_Weiss?_ A small pulse of a headache hit her dissipating slowly to the back of her mind. _No not Weiss, her sister, Winter. Winter Schnee, I thought she left Vale._

Turning away and slamming the bullhead door behind her Yang surveyed the ships Cabin, she saw her haul of dust, Roman Torchwick recovering his balance as the ship jerked and moved, her mother and finally the woman responsible for fuckin up her life.

_Emerald!_ She wanted to go and wake her up right now, beat answers out of her, punch her till the world reset, till her shoulder ceased to ache at night. But there were so many elements to consider, so many questions that still needed answering and a few chaotic elements that needed corralling.

“Now don’t take this the wrong way ladies” _Speaking of chaotic elements._ Yang mused as Roman began chatting amicably with her and Raven. “I wouldn’t want you to think I don’t appreciate the whole busting me out thing, but I would like to know just who the hell you are and what the dust you want from me?”

Raven shifted her shoulders and let Emerald hit the ground in a heap. The thud the thief made was infinitely satisfying to Yang while Roman himself seemed amused by the action. Raven moved as if to answer Roman but at the last instant walked over to Yang and began inspecting her. It felt strange getting the once over from Raven like she was a little kid who just tumbled out of a wagon rather than just finished committing a prison breakout. Raven’s gaze lingered on the bruises and scratches Yang had picked up in her fight with Pyrrha and Qrow.

“While I’m not sure what this is, I would really appreciate an answer sometime soon” Roman spoke clearly annoyed, Raven ignored him annoying Roman further.

“How’s your Aura levels?” she asked Yang her analytical tone only carrying the microscopic hint of concern. Yang reached up and gripped her mom’s shoulder Raven stopped her analyzing and made eye contact with her daughter.

“It’s fine… I’m fine, ok?” Raven just nodded back before turning to back to Roman who was tapping his foot in a greatly exaggerated manner.

_Man really wants us to know he’s annoyed._

Roman looked up and down at the crates and crates of dust packed into the bullhead. “I see you’ve taken a bit of my merchandise. Was it as painful for you to get this as it was for me?”

“You were a payment” Raven ignored his latest question, Roman quirked an eyebrow, or he raised both again it was hard to tell with his hair covering one entire eye. “Your freedom was a prerequisite for acquiring another’s services”

Roman glanced down at the unconscious heap that was Emerald.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say it wasn't my previous employer." Suddenly a loud snapping sound rung out and Roman's head twisted around to look into the cockpit, Neo half turned her chair to face her giving her most manic grin. In an instant Roman's face lit up and he rushed towards the tiny ice-cream girl scooping her up in a big hug. "NEO!"

Both Branwen women quirked their eyebrows at this overly affectionate display by this hardened criminal and wanton assassin. Neo playfully swatted Roman away and thumbed towards Raven, Roman nodded and signed something back to the tiny woman who made a one-handed gesture in return. Swagging out of the cockpit Roman appraised his rescuers.

“So you’ve roped Neo into some sort of madcap plan is that it?” he tapped Emerald with his foot turning her slightly. “and you’ve fucked with exactly the wrong people”

"The Queen is immovable, that's true," Raven spoke reaching up and removing her mask, eliciting a leering look from Roman that swiftly turned to a look of dumb recognition. "We can't stop her plans." Raven looked back at Yang with a smile that turned to snarl as she rounded on Torchwick. “BUT this ceased to be about Salem’s plans the minute they did what they did to MY BLOOD!”

Torchwick flinched away from the fiery red eyes that drilled holes into him with their glare. Dust even Yang was a bit intimidated by Raven’s intensity.

“They’re going to pay for what they did and everyone will know what happens when they come near my daughter!" Roman looked at Yang, the look on his face was like that of a man looking for a safe port in a storm. Yang reached up and took off her Ursa mask giving the criminal mastermind a half-hearted smile. Raven blew out a long sigh taking a step back from Torchwick and folding her arms. “We only really need Neo’s help with what comes next, though you’re welcome to join us.”

Roman hadn’t taken his eyes off of Yang and soon his gaze was darting back from mother to daughter and back again, as realization dawned in his brain. He buried his face in his hand.

“you said ‘my blood’ ‘my daughter’” Roman dragged his hand down his face, before pointing a finger at Yang. “Raven Branwen is your mom?”

"Yup," Yang responded being sure to put a little hop in her voice as she spoke.

“…and little red”

“Different mothers” Raven responded, Roman wiped his brow at that revelation. “Same father”

"Well that's a whole different ball game isn't it" he leaned against the cockpit doors. "Neo! Did you backstab our employers?"

Neo turned in her chair and gestured to Torchwick, herself and the unconscious Emerald all the while making a ton of signs with her hands. Torchwick nodded throughout and signed a few things back.

Turning back to Raven and Yang Roman continued “Welp Neo says selling you two out will probably not end the best for us, and that our former employers not only let the ball drop but also were willing to leave me to rot” Roman pulled out a cigar from his coat pocket and deftly caught his lighter that Neo tossed his way. Lighting up the cigar he took a long drag of it savoring the taste, before blowing out a relaxed breath. His old jack-o-lantern grin had returned and there was a spiteful glint in his gaze. “I’m more than a little curious to see how this all goes down. You have my not so cheap services!”

Raven nodded back and walked into the cockpit to give further instructions to Neo, Leaving Yang stuck with Roman. Roman swaggered through the cabin and sat himself down on a crate of fire dust practically straddling the Schnee dust logo. Yang’s eye twitched at the sight of that symbol.

"So dragon lady," he said mockery in his voice. "What brought you over to the wild side?"

Yang flexed her hand feeling her knuckles creak under the muscle. She didn’t like Torchwick, she was partially responsible for his incarceration and she knew that he knew that. Part of her considered giving him a joke in reply and just juggle witty repartee back and forth, but when she opened her mouth honest words tumbled out.

“They threw me in a cage, called me a liar, a brute and a psycho.” She folded her arms over her chest. “What else was there to do?”

Roman laughed and took a drag from his cigar, before sneering at Yang. “Well, Dragon lady, how do you like it?”

Yang grinned back. “I love it!”

* * *

**Present**

Neo’s small sword pierced through the last death worm's screaming skulls pinning it to the ground. Roman was twirling his cane around his finger in that relaxed nonchalance he always pulled off despite the beads of sweat forming on his brow. Yang was busy tearing a chunk of disintegrating flesh from the beasts' bodies. Part of her thought back to the day with the Grimm heart and her stomach rumbled at the thought of eating a meal like that once more.

_Ugh!_ She thought of dropping the meat to the floor. _It had been disgusting then and would still be disgusting now._ She quickly jogged back onto the bullhead and locked Ember Celica back onto her wrists. _Freaking stupid of me to leave these off._

A bead of sweat dribbled into her eye-stinging it, she winced as she wiped it away. That fight had been unnecessarily hard all because she’d been off her game, she’d been moody drawing the Grimm in, she’d been unarmed and worst of all she’d been thrown off her guard by the Olgoi’s assault.

She spat into the sand in frustration and let out a growl of anger at the whole fuckin situation. Roman’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance at Yang’s little tantrum.

“I know you’re just raring for a fight but do me a favor and try not to bring all the Grimm in the desert towards us, Ok?” Yang cocked Ember Celica in retort. Roman’s cane stopped spinning and he pointed its long barrel down at Yang and eyed her through the target reticule. The Air once again grew tense and Neo stepped between the two fighters, her hands raised up placating both of them. The standoff lasted for only a minute after that, both fighters lowered their weapons and returned them to their inert-ish states.

Neo blew out a sigh of relief and wagged her finger at both Yang and Roman.

_What the hell? Since when did Neo become the calming force in our group?_ Said calming force set a fast flurry of signed words at Torchwick who brushed them off with a few “yeah-yeah”s and “I got it alright”s before she turned towards Yang and slapped the top of her mask with the flat of the small sword. She lifted her hands, palms up as if to say, ‘What the hell?'.

“I got a lot on my mind is all. This’ll be the biggest job of any of our careers” it wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t the whole truth. Neo tilted her head in clear disbelief and rested her hands on her hips waiting for Yang to continue. “That’s it Neo, nothing else.”

Neo lifted her hand one finger raised as some sort of realization dawned on her. Yang felt like retreating when she saw the grin upon the little woman’s face. Neo waved her hand over her head and suddenly Yang wasn’t looking into brown and pink eyes anymore but piercing blue eyes with a scar to match. Neo had put on Weiss’ face and was giving Yang a sultry look that was creepily tempting. The assassin took a step forward, moving closer and closer to Yang until the bruiser gripped her shoulders.

"Fine…" Yang muttered unable to look Neo in her illusory face. "She's in my head, and it's messing me up. But I'll be fine once we're on a mission alright?"

Neo stared for a bit before banishing the illusion and walking away.

_Neo knows_. The thought ran through Yang like a chill. _And Raven will know soon after._


	28. Sly Cipher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss confesses to Ruby, a monster catches Yang's scent

"There seems to be a grievous conflict of interest present," The Atlas officer said looking up from his scroll which was displaying stats and records regarding team RWB_. It had taken them about an hour to see this man alone, and that was thanks to Weiss' bureaucratic know-how and Penny's connections within the Atlas military.

_Apparently, the usual wait time is 4 hours at least_. Ruby thought almost miserably as she stood in front of the head of the Atlas military base here in Vacuo. The Officer was a short-bearded man by the name of Hodeer with a raven black beard that was a strange juxtaposition to his crisp white uniform. And by Short Ruby meant very short, the man was about 3 inches smaller than Weiss. Officer Hodeer was also sweating like a snowman in spring, constantly dabbing his head with a cloth he kept on hand.

“Considering your connections with the target, and the recent news about your other team-mate…” he trailed off leaving the implication clear for all present. Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. “…well I’d be well within my rights to detain the both of you”

"Not really" Weiss cut in already in the bureaucratic zone. "Seeing as your presence in Vacuo is a courtesy at best and that both Ms. Rose and I are not Atlas citizens with no criminal records, you'd be illegally detaining us. An action that I'm sure the good people of Vacuo would not appreciate.”

“And besides Ruby is my friend!” Penny cut in trying to help in a manner that was not actually helpful.

“Well, be that as it may, we still have no reason to offer either of you any assistance from the Atlessian military!” He shot back to Weiss ignoring his robotic subordinate.

Ruby let out an exasperated sigh, Weiss might like these long legalese and arguments, but she was tired of it. “Officer Hodeer We’re just here offering you an exchange of information regarding Yang! It’s an information trade!”

Weiss had an almost disappointed look on her face that was made all the sadder by her still red eye. Hodeer blinked as if he’d just been awoken from a strange dream. _Nice that my words finally got through to him. _Ruby almost laughed, she’d been saying just as much for the past hour and no one really seemed to want to pass her intent onto the next person up the line.

“Oh… you have information then?”

“Indeed we do” Ruby tried to put the joy back into her voice but the maze of paperwork and waiting had drained her. "starting with an explanation about why half your scrolls say north when they should say south"

* * *

Ruby let out a groan and took a deep breath of the Vacuo Air finally glad to be out of that base.

"We got more than I expected," she said enjoying the feeling of the sun on her skin. The warmth that came with the sun and aired climate helped offset the cold feeling lingering in her mind. "Thanks, Weiss… Weiss?"

The ex-heiress was staring off again thumb resting on her lower lip. She’d done this over and over again since they left the Huntsman infirmary.

“WEISS!” Ruby shouted knocking Weiss out of her daze. Her hand quickly retreated from her face and she put on an annoyed look at Ruby.

“What? You shouldn’t yell at people like-“ Ruby’s stare silenced her. The stare wasn’t judging, it wasn’t even angry, it was pleading, pleading for her friend to not leave her in the dark.

“Weiss, what happened between you and Yang?” Ruby asked resting her hand on Weiss’ wrist. “We’re partners you can tell me”

Weiss' cheeks turned as red as her left eye and she was silent for a good minute of waiting. Eventually, Weiss started walking towards a secluded palm tree and motioned for Ruby to follow. Obliging Ruby left Penny patiently waiting by the Atlas gates. Even as Ruby approached she saw that Weiss was nervously looking every which way for someone, anyone who might’ve been listening in. Her paranoia sated she finally broke.

“I kissed Yang” Ruby flinched back, that was not what she’d been expecting. “I’ve loved your sister since our second term at Beacon, Ruby I’m sorry I should have told you.”

Weiss started to go through the various cliché apologetic phrases, but it had already faded into white noise for Ruby. Ruby loved weapons, like really loved weapons and a key element of any ranged weapon was the rate of fire. There were many types of firing capability for guns, some were bolt action, some were double-action without the bolt, some had only semi-auto speeds and others were fully automatic. Now that didn't necessarily determine how fast the bullets were going to come out but it did help, one pull and the little slugs were flying.

If bullets were conflicting emotions, then they were firing at full-auto right into Ruby’s face. Anger, sadness, jubilation, love, regret, envy, happiness, betrayal and many many more. Ruby took a stumbling step away from Weiss, bringing her hand up to her forehead to make sure she didn’t have a fever and that this wasn’t a hallucination.

“-uby! Are you ok?" Weiss' voice finally cut through the white noise haze. Ruby doubled over resting her hand on her knees, she didn't feel like vomiting, but she needed balance. She felt like she did that one-time Uncle Qrow let her take a sip from his flask on her 18th birthday, it was all still hazy and her recent stint in the huntsmen hospital was not helping.

_Weiss is in love with Yang! _Ruby thought to herself trying to find ground. _How did I not notice? Why didn’t she tell me, I’m her partner?_

Ruby started to tip over but luckily Weiss was there to catch her, Ruby could feel her partner shuddering as she held onto her. Unconsciously Ruby’s arms reached up and held Weiss in a tight embrace.

_The Vytal festival was worse for Weiss than I thought. She’d been suffering alone for so long._ The leader instincts took over and Ruby held Weiss and patted her back.

“Its… its ok Weiss” it wasn’t really ok but Weiss needed to hear this at this moment. "I'm just…" _betrayed, happy for you, pissed, envious of the fact Yang didn’t want to break your face but was happy to try and bust mine._ “… a little conflicted by the whole thing is all.”

Ruby let go of Weiss and lent back against a nearby palm tree, her balance restored.

"Why didn't you say anything," she asked looking the Heiress up and down. "Not about the kiss I mean… well maybe the kiss, but about the ‘in love' thing."

Weiss shifted nervously before lifting her hand, palm up, and twirling a summoning circle around her fingertips. She stared at the tiny knight she summoned for a long second, glancing around looking for any eavesdroppers.

“Because after the Vytal festival, I didn’t need the attention. I didn’t need everyone’s focus and help on me. You’d just lost a sister, Beacon was breaking apart and well we know what happened with Pyrrha.” She shivered despite the heat. “My unrequited love wasn’t that important in the grand scheme of things”

Ruby nodded a bit before slapping her open palm right against Weiss’s forehead causing the Atlesian to stumble back.

“Ow, Hey!” she began before Ruby grabbed her shoulders and began to shake her hard.

“Weiss! You silly selfless DOLT!” Ruby shouted still shaking the short girl.

“Hey that’s my line” Ruby stopped her shaking glaring at her partner. “...but I guess I was a little dolt-ish”

“Weiss, We’re a team, we share the burdens and we don’t keep secrets” Ruby let go of Weiss. “Blakes kept her white fang roots a secret and that almost got her killed. Pyrrha kept her maiden thing to herself and that ruined her life. We still don’t know what was going through Yang’s mind but it would be easier to deal with if we did”

Weiss looked ashamed by what Ruby said, clearly her words were getting through that ex-heiress stubbornness of hers.

_I’m getting a little intense maybe it would be best if I dialed it back_. She wiped sweat from her brow before putting on a calm and friendly smile, the type of smile that her mom used to have, that Yang used to wear. Weiss seemed to relax a bit from the grin.

“Weiss I’d love it if we were sisters, and you’re already pretty much a part of my family” she pulled into the hug once more. “But don’t keep secrets ok? It never turns out well.”

Weiss didn’t reply only nodding and squeezed Ruby back in response. _That’ll have to do for now._ Ruby motioned for Penny to come back and join them. The robot girl was happy to oblige practically skipping as she approached the two. _We have a lot of information to compile._

“So Penny how has your skills for connecting data improved?” Ruby asked handing her the file drive that commander Hodeer gave them, after their generous donation that is. Penny took the drive and plugged it into a port behind her ear.

“I’ve improved it’s efficiency by 32.54% in the 6 months since I saw you last" she responded one ear wiggling as it processed data. The data they'd received were reports made by all Atlas forces that had searched the desert already, where they searched and what they used in their search. "Know any parameters that'll simplify things for me?"

"Keep an eye out for the South-North replacement issue and pay attention to any reports that include soldiers seeing anything odd; a strange focus of Grimm or sightings of aircraft that shouldn't be in the area or those whose sightings conflict with reports" Penny complied with a mechanical nod and a little hop. Ruby raised a finger to add another parameter. "She has Neo with her, do you think you can factor in Neo's semblance?"

“It might require more run time but I think I can, yes” There was hesitancy in Penny’s words but not enough to make Ruby worried. “Oh and I can maintain conversations while I compile data” the robot girl rapped her knuckles against her own head for emphasis. Ruby chuckled at the antic and was thankful for the robot girl’s presence here.

“Hold that thought while I get some more info from JN_R and Blake” Ruby flipped out her scroll and began corresponding, keeping to the code they set out in the morning.

**R: Time wasted! The Atlas forces gave us nothing we’re running on bones here. Tell me you guys have something.**

**N: DARN IT! TELL ME YOU THREATENED THEM ATLEST?!**

**L: The brothel owner wouldn’t say much but, Y is clearly highly connected now, with enough resources to get a Bullhead or similar transport. Will talk more when we meet up.**

**J: Blake and I’ve been struggling with some desert transport so far.**

**B: Atlas has been on my tail a bit recently.**

Ruby had to hide a smirk of pride over Blake and Weiss’ code, it was fantastically perfect in its simplicity. If the first word of a text ended in a vowel everything after it was actually the opposite of what was stated. If the first word ended in a consonant then the statement was true, except in the case of Ren and Nora who really just counted as one person, so their texts were treated as such. So in full, they had transport, Blake was still pursued and Yang had connections. Ruby could roll with that.

She snickered, still able to appreciate the little mischievous moments in her life as a huntress. She was about to answer Nora’s text when a shadow fell over her scrolls screen and the iron scent of blood flooded her nose. She didn’t look away from the scroll, too nervous to look up as she felt an overwhelming force bearing down on her. The slow constant drip was almost unbearable to listen to and echoed incredibly loud in her ears.

* * *

**Yang**

Yang snapped the scroll closed. They hadn’t figured out what she’d done yet so that was good, but they were prying and Azraq might have just pissed the wrong bird mom off. She stood up from her seated position atop the bullhead looking down on Roman as he finished clearing up the evidence they left behind.

Yang cupped her hands around her mouth before she spoke. “HEY ROMAN!” the crime boss was startled by the shout and gave her an annoyed look, Yang couldn’t help but chuckle at that glare. Hopping down from the bullhead she lifted the heater he was struggling to pick up with one arm.

“What?” he asked ignoring her obvious display of physical dominance.

“The bug is still working”

“Of course it is, I paid good money for it” he spoke brushing the dirt off his white jacket and readjusting his hat upon his head. “Got anything relevant to us?”

“Azraq gave them hints at my connections but didn’t drop any names” she was a bit annoyed by that but had to admit Nora and Ren could be an intimidating pair when they put their minds to it.

“Smart man. Maybe we should send him a fruit basket as thanks” the man was great at sneering and gifted Yang a perfect sneer now.

“They’re also lacking in desert capable transport, Atlas is being its usual unhelpful self and Blake’s got bounty hunters on her ass” Yang felt a tiny pang of guilt over that last one but it was drowned out by her joy at karma smashing Blake in the face. "That should give us enough breathing room to leave them in the dust while we travel to Vale"

She set the heater down in the bullhead shaking the whole ship as she did. She kept her back to Roman so he wouldn’t see the conflict she felt was evident on her face. _I need distance from RWB, let them get bogged down in crap I need focus for the job ahead._

The tip of Roman’s cane tapped the box right in front of Yang. She turned back to face his calculating grin as he lit up a cigar.

“Speaking of which” he took a deep pull savoring both the cigar and Yang’s spent time. “What’s the plan?”

The air had been tense since Yang had been rescued and if she was being honest with herself most of the blame fell on her. _I’ve been too short lately. Getting annoyed at Neo for being a psycho and Roman for being full of himself, I might as well berate Zwei for peeing in the woods. I gotta regain control and respect before we move on._

Yang squeezed her knuckles till they audibly popped, it was a tick she'd developed whenever she was busy thinking and she knew it was one that Roman could read. She grabbed a dust crystal and tossed it to him, he caught it with his usual quick reflexes. She stuck her hands in her pockets and leaned against the ship's frame.

“How would you do it?” she asked playing to Roman’s rampant ego. “You get a shot at Ironwood how would you make it happen?”

Roman smirked at the attention and hidden praise. He tilted his hat as he collected his own thoughts, tossing the dust shard up in the air as he paced the cabin.

“First I’d try and get as many of his forces away from him as possible” he caught the Crystal between his ring and index finger before rolling along his knuckles.

"Well, a few of his forces are in Vacuo hunting after a dastardly crook" Yang retorted add Roman's own brand of sarcasm and mockery directed towards the forces of Atlas. "So check one for that"

The crime boss chuckled and Yang joined him. “After that we’ve got to gather as much info as possible about the wheres and whens of Ironwood’s movements. Is that what old Mr.Green has up his sleeve?”

Yang nodded. Roman lifted two fingers. “2 checks then. Still, fighting the man himself won’t exactly be as easy as a dust store hold-up and getting that many fights that close to him will be a pain in the ass”

“I thought you said you could rely on Neo for that?”

Roman looked offended at the suggestion, holding his hand over his chest in fake surprise. “Poor little Neo against a hardened soldier like General Ironwood? Who would dare to suggest such a thing?” Yang laughed out loud at his antics, though she laughed more than his bit really warranted. _Have to play into that ego of his_. He nodded before retrieving one of his cigars. “Joking aside, Neo’s good but Ironwoods a beast, she might need back up”

Roman flicked his lighter only garnering occasional sparks. Yang calmly approached him, taking the red crystal from his hands and focusing her aura to the tips of her fingers, a small flame ignited from the tip of her nail. Roman had a tiny flash of fear on his face, no doubt remembering his previous employer, before leaning in and lighting his cigar. Yang waved her hand dispelling the fire as Roman took a long drag.

“I can get us in.” Yang said, Roman’s eyebrow raised. “Raven can portal to me from wherever she is at any time, I go in with Neo and with one scroll message it’ll be a 4 on 1 fight.”

Roman sneered at the idea and Yang matched him. They both knew it wouldn’t be that simple, her plan was just the bones of an idea and they both knew that things went wrong in a plan. _But why spoil the fun?_

Spinning his cane around Roman blew out his smoke, he wasn't looking at Yang anymore his mind was traveling to another place, his mind was thinking up different aspects to the job, the riches he could grab along the way and the cred he could score just from being apart of this gig. He stopped halfway out of the ship and pointed the cane back at Yang, point just an inch from her face. Yang didn’t flinch and just smiled back at him.

"Still there's the problem of you being the one to ‘finish it'" he said not lowering the cane. Yang's eye twitched once before she was able to suppress the compulsion, instead, she gave him a toothy smile reminiscent of the Ursa helm that decorated her head. She pushed the cane away, not too forcefully but hard enough the Roman could feel her strength through it.

“Roman, that’s not a problem” she picked up one cigar from his pocket and lit it with her thumb. “that’s one less thing for you to worry about”

He was either going to be very annoyed with her for that action and response, or he was going to be impressed and respect her more for it. When Roman smiled back and tipped his hat Yang knew that it was the latter.

"If everything's packed up, I guess we'll be on our way" Roman said walking around the ship towards the cockpit. "Be a dear and tell Neo that playtime is over"

“Got it” _One issue fixed now to the more pressing one._

* * *

**Ruby**

Ruby took a deep breath before lifting her face up to look at Pyrrha Nikos gazing down at Ruby’s screen, peeping like a curious kid at Signal. Her eyes hadn’t locked with Ruby’s and there was a splash of blood across her face, Ruby could tell the blood was both fresh and human. Ruby took all of the Mistralian in, her arms were coated in ichor up to her elbow and that the former MRT champion was sporting the green metal armor of her new office. Ruby’s mouth felt dry and she had to hammer down the urge to go and grab as many civilians as possible and store them away in a bunker.

“Pyrrha?”

The Mistralian girl looked up from Ruby’s scroll, gave the little red leader a smile that only reached half her face then took a step back.

“I’m sorry for prying” the person that was once Pyrrha Nikos said in her strange strange voice. “You just seemed so intent on what was on your scroll that it was contagious”

Ruby concentrated on Pyrrha’s mouth as her old friend spoke, doing her best to avoid looking at her eyes. Their discordance always unnerved her. It was hard enough task without the blood splattered on the girl’s face almost pointing right at the eyes.

"Pyrrha, It's fine. I haven't seen you in a while Pyrrha" she kept repeating the name as Uncle Qrow had taught her. Pyrrha’s face was shocked for a second before sliding back into a sly sort of look, as she crossed her arms. “How’ve you been Pyrrha?”

"I've been… WELL" the well was forced and ran counter to the smile on the redhead's face. Still, she stepped forward into Ruby's personal space, her finger pointed right at the smaller huntress. "I know you don’t I? You called me Pyrrha. How do you know me?”

Weiss took a step forward putting herself into Pyrrha's view and grabbing her gaze. Her red-coated finger tracked over the Atlessian.

“I know you too.”

“We went to Beacon together” Weiss spat defiance in her tone though Ruby knew she must have been as scared as she was. “We used to spar in Glynda Goodwitch’s class”

“Did we now?” Pyrrha purred at the idea of an old rival and before Ruby could blink there was a sword in the Amazon’s hand. She cracked her neck and a shiver of obvious pleasure ran through her. “Care for a rematch then?”

She had the kindest smile on her face, one that left one expecting a calm enjoyable bout going back and forth till aura broke. _But I know better_. Ruby thought with a chill. _Few people know better than me._

The next move she made would be a risky one but she had to think quickly. She took a step between Weiss and Pyrrha her hands raised in both a sign of placation and a subtler sign of surrender. The Mistralian looked down on Ruby and her upraised hands, the sword still tight in her grip. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t move all she did was smile that old warm smile that used to encourage her friends.

_Now that smile only ever worries me._ Ruby thought now that the maiden was focused on her.

“We’re not looking for a fight” Ruby spoke hoping everyone missed the warble in her voice. “We’re just-‘

“Hunting after my target.” The maiden finished, still not sheathing her sword. “Yang Xiao Long, the instigator of the Vytal Festival incident and former member of team RWBY”

A light shown in Pyrrha's mismatched eye as she spoke and slowly took a step towards Ruby. "if my memory serves, you and she were… sisters right? Its been so long and my head gets so muddled so much these days that things like that just slip my mind."

Ruby swallowed, there was electricity in the air, and she’d raised her aura without realizing it. The clouds overhead started to darken and Ruby’s mind raced thinking of how long it would take her to reach down and retrieve Crescent Rose, and how quickly Pyrrha could react. There was a soft click as Pyrrha’s armor began to shift and another sword started to unsheathe itself.

"Tell me," she said emerald eye twitching slightly. "have you heard of the works of Urial Nakuta?”

Penny stepped in front of Ruby halting Pyrrha’s advance.

“Fall maiden’ she said bowing low to the former Mistralia regional champion. “I hope your hunt has been going exceptionally!” As quickly as they came the swords vanished and Pyrrha was relaxed again, her emerald eye most of all. Penny rose from her low bow and gestured to Ruby and Weiss. “My friends Ruby and Weiss have just submitted helpful information to the Atlas forces here in Vacuo and are doing their best to help me in OUR investigation.”

Penny turned towards them and for a second Ruby saw a look of pleading desperation in Penny’s eye. Ruby nodded in response before Penny turned back.

“That’s right We want to make sure Yang is caught as quickly as possible” _by anyone else but atlas_. “Weiss and I are sorry if we provoked you Pyr-“ she caught Penny’s glance that showed, of all things, fear. “-fuh-fall maiden.” The word tasted like poison in her mouth.

Pyrrha gave a graceful gracious bow. “Apology graciously accepted, and I hope we could work together in the future.”

"Such a meeting would be delightful," Weiss said in a tone that implied it would be anything but. The fall maiden didn't seem to notice instead returning her gaze to the robot girl.

“My hunt has been going well, despite a few hiccups" Penny mechanically scanned the crimson-covered arms.

“Should I alert a coroner?” she asked in a bland mechanical tone.

"No need an ambulance is already on the way and should suffice." The fall maiden started to walk towards the Atlas military base. "I'll need you to collate some data for me before we split again."

Penny saluted as the maiden walked into the base without looking back. Before Ruby could reach out to hold Penny back from going into the base, the robot girl turned about and gripped Ruby in a bone-crushing hug. Ruby was stunned for an instant as she felt the machine girl shake around her.

_She’s crying!_

“Keep away from her, Ok Ruby? Don’t start anything with her alright?” Penny whispered into Ruby’s ears so quietly only Ruby could hear. “I’ll be back in a bit, keep safe”

And with that, she parted, and Ruby felt the urge to use her speed to stop her, to bring her away from the Fall maiden and Atlas to someplace safe and away from it all. She would be willing to fight the fall maiden for Penny, but she knew that she needed to trust the Robot girl, so Ruby just stood there and watched her go.

When Ruby turned around and saw that Weiss was hugging herself eyes locked on the Atlas base, Ruby knew that Penny could wait. _She can handle herself and team leader duties come first._

She pulled Weiss back into the shade of the nearby palm trees and Gently held her shoulders feeling her vibrate in what had to be a cocktail of anger, excitement, terror, and sadness. Ruby knew that shake since it was going through her too.

"Pyrrha's dead," Weiss said stating it like a fact, no doubt remembering the red stains and the sword in the maiden's hand.

Ruby didn't respond, instead deciding to lean against the palm tree and hold her hands between her knees.

“We can’t let her get to Yang” Weiss continued. Ruby nodded knowing what would likely come from such a showdown. _And dreading who would win._ An Idea hit Ruby’s mind, a simple dastardly idea that left her feeling just a bit conflicted.

“No Weiss we can’t” she pulled out her scroll and set to typing rapidly, Weiss stood up from the tree and looked over the screen before gasping in shock. Ruby’s finger hovered over the send icon for what felt like an eternity before it fell and digit touched screen.

* * *

**Yang**

It didn’t take Yang long to find the assassin. The tiny Ice cream girl was resting atop the bullhead’s wing, hanging upside down and ogling the blonde. Yang rested her hand on her hip as she looked up at the dangling Neo.

“Get down here, Roman says we’re gonna be wheels up any second now!” Yang ran her fingers over the mask on her head letting its electrical feeling course through her fingers like static. “and I have something I want to talk to you about”

Yang was sure to add the faintest hint of weakness and fear to her words so what happened next would be even more surprising to the tiny assassin. Neo had a cruel grin on her face from her perch and Yang was forced to stifle a grin of her own. _She bought it hook line and sinker._

Neo tumbled down from her perch as gracefully as any dancer Yang had ever seen landing with similar grace. As soon as her legs left the wing Yang was moving and when her feet touched the dirt Yang was already upon her. It was a rare sight to see Neo surprised but this did put shock into her eye and she reeled back from Yang’s bull-rush. Neo’s back knocked against the side of the bullhead.

Yang’s hand slammed next to Neo’s head and she leaned close to the Ice cream girl, close enough to smell the slight apprehension wafting off her so thickly she could sense it with or without the Grimm-mask. Yang gave Neo a leering grin and lent closer to the much shorter girl’s face.

“You’re playing with fire here Neo” Yang purred to the smaller woman, who had still not regained her composure. “I’m all for living on the edge, hopping from rush to rush keeps me **Alive!”**

Yang’s eyes must have shown like embers when she said that cause Neo’s eyes widened as she spoke. Yang slid her hand up the metal of the bullhead leaning closer to the assassin until she was resting on her elbow inches from Neo’s face.

“But Neo, I can’t have this thing with Weiss getting to mom” Yang’s face was so close to her partner-in-crime that one of her curls brushed against Neo’s eye. Neo gave her a look that screamed ‘or what?’ Yang let out a hearty laugh throwing her head back as she did. _Gotta keep her off balance as much as possible._

“Look I made nice with Roman and I’m not gonna start anything” Yang hand rose and took one of Neo’s pink locks between her thumb and forefinger, rolling the hair between her fingers pretending to observe it ignoring how close they were to one another. Ignoring how intimate their nearness was.

“So this isn’t a threat, not really. I’m just asking a favor from you is all” She unleashed Ember Celica in their Grimm bone glory and amped up the predatory grin on her face. “Just keep this secret between us alright?”

Neo was Crazy and Yang knew it, you don’t use reason when dealing with insanity all you can do is dive into their insanity with them. _And hope you can pull yourself out of it._ She knew she’d struck the right nerves when Neo rested her arm on Yang’s shoulder and Yang felt a thin blade pressing against her back. The smile on Neo’s face was just as Predatory as Yang’s and she nodded to the blonde before jaunting off into the bullhead.

_That’s them taken care of thank dust!_ Yang blew out a relaxed sigh running her hand along her face. At any point Neo could have flipped out and gone slashing at her or worse could have darted across the tiny distance between their faces and kissed her. Yang laughed at the conflict roiling in her stomach at that imagining, her libido said yes but her Grimm-slime covered heart said No! but in a more growly aggressive sort of way.

But besides that confliction, everything was back on track; her past was far behind her desperately getting their act together, Roman and Neo were less moody and now they were on **THE** Mission.

"Now all that's left is mom," she said to no one in particular… which was unfortunate due to her very real audience.

“Yang.” Yang nearly jumped out of her skin as Raven spoke right behind her. She spun around bringing her Gauntlets up in a defensive position. Raven’s hands were crossed over her chest while Yureru and her mask were hanging off her belt. Her exposed skin was still milky white and seemed to shine in the desert sun.

Raven's face wasn't disappointed or angry or filled with judgment, but this didn't fill Yang with ease. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Without a word or even a twitch of her face, Raven uncrossed her arms and held them open for her Daughter. No further prompting necessary Yang lowered her gauntlets and embraced her mother with the Xiao-Long standard bearhug. Yang felt safe when Raven hugged her back and her worries ebbed away in her mother's arms.

“I missed you mom” was all she said burying her face in her mom’s shoulder. Raven ran her fingers through her hair letting it fall gently to her back.

“I missed you too Yang” When they parted Yang spied the tiniest hint of a smile on her mother’s face. “I am curious what that whole ‘All that’s left is mom’ comment meant”

“That psssh” Yang waved the comment away. “I’m just planning on usurping you as top dog of the criminal underworld, Roman’s agreed to help”

Raven laughed and rested her hand on Yureru’s hilt, not a threat just to show that she’d always be ready for the day Yang challenged her. “Good luck to you and Roman in that endeavor!”

Laughing back the both of them settled into a comfortable silence as the ship's engine started. Yang motioned towards the ship. "Well, we should probably get going then." She started moving towards the ship's cabin when Raven's hand shot out and gripped Yang's forearm. Fear shot back into Yang and she slowly turned to face her mother again.

“Yang” her mother’s voice was as somber as her face, there was a sadness in her crimson eyes. “We need to talk.”

Yang swallowed, opened her mouth to speak when she felt her scroll buzz in her pocket. Raven let go and Yang reached down to retrieve her scroll. Her eyes widened as she looked over the message, she read it again and again and a final time making sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

"Mom it'll have to wait, we have to go now," she said turning the scroll around towards Raven. It simply read.

**R: Pyrrha is here and she’s on Yang’s trail. **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	29. Hello the my Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emerald wakes up, Ruby gets good news and Yang starts wrecking

**Two years ago**

The first thing Emerald felt when she finally regained consciousness was a deep and intense soreness that pervaded throughout her whole body. The pain was like a deep bruise or like that pain you get for sleeping on your neck the wrong way, except all over her body. She let out a low mumbling groan and instantly regretted it.

That regret was spawned from the second thing she felt, the eyes of predators on her, specifically the eyes of Grimm. Aura alerts it’s wielders to the presence of danger and specifically eye's upon you, Emerald had honed it well enough to be able to differentiate when Grimm were looking at her and when people were looking at her. She kept her eyes closed as her mind raced through multiple worst-case scenarios.

_Did Yang just leave me in the woods to die? Am I in hell? Did Grimm kill her and leave me here? Or… _the last idea frightened her worse than the others. _Did Cinder rescue me and give me over to **her** as punishment?_

That idea sent her heart racing, and she hoped it wasn’t the case, death was preferable to whatever **she **had in mind. Emerald took stock of her situation, her arms and feet were bound. _Not the greatest situation but it means I’m not dead. _Her being sat in a chair ruled out being left in the woods and she heard a torch crackling somewhere nearby. _Dungeon/prison it is then._

A dungeon she could deal with, she’d been in plenty of dungeons in her time as a thief. Cracking open one eye she set herself to survey her surroundings. The first thing she saw was a rough stone floor that was poorly lit by a nearby campfire. _I’m not in a dungeon I’m in an altered cave. Where are the Grimm? What are they waiting for?_

"We know you're awake" a familiar voice cut through making Emerald's headache with the memory. _Yang!_ “So do us a favor and stop pretending ok?”

Looking up Emerald was greeted with a peculiar image, Yang was sat in down on her haunches with that strange white and red kimono draped over her shoulders and that terrifying Grimm mask over her head. Next to Yang was a Woman with a similar mask and black hair spilling out of her mask. _Why do they feel like Grimm?_

“When will it hit her?” Yang asked matching Emerald’s glare.

“Any second now” the Other responded watching Yang rather than Emerald.

_When will what hit me?_ Emerald didn’t have to wonder long as a wave of nausea hit her like the Argus limited, she bent over in her chair as far as she could and retched onto the floor. She bent far but some still stained her pants. _Great now the humiliation is complete._

Yang let out a little snicker at the sight, earning only more of Emerald’s hatred. She couldn’t wipe away a long line of drool hanging off her chin swinging like a pendulum back and forth as she rocked in the chair.

“Uh Em, you got something right there” Yang tapped her chin to bring attention to hanging drool. Emerald was determined to think up a particularly gruesome nightmare to drill into Yang’s bimbo brain.

"Never tease a captive," The Other woman said standing up and walking towards Emerald, she retrieved a small red handkerchief from her pocket as she approached. Despite the handkerchief and the clear-ish intentions Emerald still leaned away from the woman. The woman said nothing, didn't even seem to notice Emerald's reaction and wiped away the hanging drool. "There all better"

Emerald had to scoff, despite her situation their tactics were obvious.

"Seriously"?" she said as the other woman packed away the handkerchief. "The good-cop-bad-cop routine?"

The dark Red woman just stared at her for a second before slamming her fist right into Emerald's stomach so hard it cracked the captive girl's aura and knocked the air out of her. Emerald struggled to regain her breath and part of her was worried she might puke once more. Fingers dug into her hair as her face was wrenched back up. Red eyes glared at her from behind a Grimm mask, there was nothing but hate and contempt in those eyes.

“There are no good-cops here Emerald Sustrai” it came out of the mask in a growling whisper and Emerald’s nausea was swallowed up by her fear.

Tossing Emerald's head back the other woman leaned against the cave wall and nodded towards Yang. Rising from her squatting position she approached Emerald; still trying to recapture her breath. For a while, she just stood there and let the thief catch her breath.

"What?" Emerald spat weak deviance up at the blonde.

“How did you do it?” Yang said crouching down to look Emerald in the eye. “You’re an illusionist, but was it working on me or was it working on the whole stadium?”

“What do you think?” Emerald started to gather spit in her mouth to shoot right in her captor’s face. _I’m not going to just sit here and make it easy for them._

“It was just me then, your illusions are good; full tactile feelings on top of sounds and visuals. Would be too straining to use on the whole stadium.”

Emerald said nothing all but confirming Yang’s statement. Yang slowly lifted up her mask exposing her face to Emerald. She was tired, that was the first thing that passed through Emerald’s mind, the fact that Yang looked incredibly tired. It took her a second to even see that her eyes were Red and another second to realize now was her opportunity to hawk the luge-e into the Blonde’s face.

The spit wad splattered against Yang’s cheek right but the only reaction she got was a slight twitch of the eye.

“Tell me Em," she said calmly wiping the spittle off her cheek and flicking it to the floor. "Did you make Mercury say ‘there’s not going to be a next time blondie’ or was that all him?”

Yang did a pretty good impression of Emerald’s partner in crime, but the intensity in Yang’s eyes made it hard to find humor in that fact, dust it made it hard for her to even remember who did it. Emerald mumbled a bit before regaining her composer under that unblinking gaze.

“Mercury. He lightened my load by saying it himself” Emerald finally answered hoping Yang would look somewhere else at the very least, she felt like a fly under a microscope. Luckily Yang did turn her head and with a quick little illusion set in Place Emerald began work at her bindings. Yang’s fingers reached up, wiped away the spit and then buried themselves in her hair and began to shake.

_Is she crying?_ Emerald thought somehow unable to draw pleasure from that. All at once the shaking stopped, the hand fell and Yang turned back to face her a soft smile on her face.

"Thanks, emerald" was all she said.

“You’re wel-” before the word left Emerald’s lips Yang’s fist collided with her cheek and knocked her chair off balance. The chair started to tip over only to be caught by Yang, lifted up and thrown onto the cave floor, shattering the chair into splinters.

Emerald was in a daze; it had all happened so fast and she barely managed to compose herself in time to see Yang straddle her, rear her head back and slam her masked forehead right into Emerald’s face. Then again. And again.

Grabbing both sides of Emerald’s face Yang roared a furious hate filled scream into the master thief.

“YOU **BITCH**!” Yang threw her into the cave wall sending pain shooting up Emerald’s shoulder as it struck stone. “YOU **RUIN**ED MY **LIFE!** AND YOU DON’T **EV**EN C**ARE**! WHAT D**I**D **I** DO TO YO**U**?”

_I need to get out of here, I need to escape!_ Desperation coursed through Emerald's mind making her illusion difficult to maintain. She started to crawl away only for Yang to hoist her up by her hair and whisper-shouted into her ear.

“Answer **me!**” her words hissed through her teeth flooded with hatred. “Why did you do it?”

Emerald felt blood dribbling out of her nose the world suddenly felt so surreal. “Wuh-w-we needed people to panic” Emerald managed to croak out. Yang’s hand tightened and twisted her hair causing Emerald to yelp at the pain. “WHAT? THAT’S THE TRUTH!”

"WHY ME?" The other woman was closer now keeping her eyes fixed on Yang rather than Emerald as if she didn't care what Emerald had to say in this interrogation. "Was it just cause I was picked or were you planning this?”

Ember Celica unfolded in a not so subtle threat. Emerald knew she couldn't get herself out of the bonds in time to save herself if Yang decided to start beating her with those gauntlets. 

_Think! think! think! I need to stall. What would Cinder do? _Emerald was in a dicey situation, she was trapped in a cave who knows where being interrogated by a very emotional, VERY punch happy warden. _With no guarantee of life even if I do tell them everything._

“Mercury wanted to fight you.” A Half-truth, not the real reason they picked her but it might buy time. “He figured gun-gauntlets vs gun-boots would be an interesting fight”

That got a chuckle from the blonde-bruiser, though it sounded hollow. Letting go of her hair Yang let Emerald fall to the ground. Squatting down on her haunches Yang treated emerald to a knowing smile and a tired look.

“That’s funny Em, It’s a lie, but it's a funny lie" Emerald's eyes drifted back to the shotgun gauntlets on Yang's wrist and unconsciously swallowed. "I want the truth, all of it"

Beads of sweat started to form on Emerald’s face and fight or flight started to take over.

"You were a hot head, everyone knew. That's what made it believable. It's why we picked you" There was no look of surprise or widening of eyes just a small defeated look as if Yang had already known but had wanted more.

She was quiet for a long time and the interrogation cave became so quiet that Emerald worried about the noise her straining against her restraints might make even with her semblance. Then Yang nodded, not to Emerald really, it was more of a nod to herself and without a word, she stood up and left the room.

_Leaving me with the other one?_ She strained her eyes towards Other woman but like Yang, she wasn't paying attention to her, she was looking towards where Yang went. _Is it too much to ask that I be the center of attention in my own interrogation?_

* * *

**Raven**

Raven waited a bit before following Yang out of the interrogation chamber. Outside of the cell door was a long pathway of carven stone that led to another door. Raven removed her helm before stepping into the other room. They were back in the stop-off base they had stayed in when Raven first rescued Yang. _Dust that feels like a lifetime ago._

Yang was sat on one of the couches near the cave entrance, her mask left to the side and her head in her hands. She was shaking. _Crying._ Raven approached her daughter keeping an arm's length from her still unused to being a mother. She started to reach a hand out to… _hold her? pat her on the back? I don’t even know why she’s crying? What's the protocol here?_

Her fingertips rested on Yang’s back causing her shaking to subside ever so slightly.

“Yang?” her voice was soft and she tried to put some comfort in it thinking back to the day she told Yang how proud she was.

"I'm not crazy," Yang said face leaving the confines of her hands. There were tears streaming down her face in rivers but she was smiling despite the tears, a small shaking grin. She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand and took a shuddering breath in. “I’m not Crazy” she repeated as if she couldn’t quite believe it herself.

It was one thing to be told you’re right, its another thing to know it. The relief that comes from vindication is enough to make a person forget that they’d been wronged and somehow hope that the world would make sense once more. Raven sat down next to Yang, brushing her hand up and down her back.

“You’re not crazy daughter mine, you never were” Raven turned Yang to face her and rested her hands on her hips. Her air of comfort dissipated away allowing her aura of the teacher to flood back in. “You are sane Yang, but the question remains what are you going to do now that you know that?”

Yang looked up face still slightly puffy from the tear. “I-I don’t know…” she let her hands fall between her knees and a bit of helplessness started to creep in on her. “I guess I could get Emerald to confess this to Ozpin or Ironwood.”

Yang’s brow furrowed at the words coming out of her mouth and for an instant Raven’s mouth twitched upwards in approval.

"No" Yang continued, "Ozpin and Ironwood thought I was crazy from the start, after all, I did for them! I mean it's not like a mind-altering semblance is unheard of right?”

Raven nodded. Yang stood up the energy of anger flowing through her now. "They made me see that crap to agitate the Grimm, Ozpin, and Ironwood locked me up to placate the Grimm. These two idiots are fighting their little idiot war and I get caught in the middle of this garbage" Yang's hands were shaking and she was gesturing around wildly. “They wanna wreck my life for their plan, then I'm not gonna leave them to Oz and Ironwood. That’s too easy” she threw her hand towards the door leading to where Emerald was chained up.

Raven suppressed a chuckled at Yang's bravado, she was so much like her father wanting to give appropriate payback and ignoring the dangers. "are you sure Yang? These people are dangerous"

Yang smirked at that baring her pearly white teeth. “So am I mom, this Cinder woman she’s got a master right? That singer in my head. I’m sticking with the plan, and that Grimm woman will have to deal with it..” She cocked Ember Celica for added effect “and, I’ll leave Ozpin and Ironwood with the shame that I sorted out their problem better than they did.”

Raven matched her daughter’s grin. “My thoughts exactly Daughter mine” _This is professional courtesy Salem, your pawn overstepped her bounds this is what she gets. "_Cinder still has allies in the city, I suggest we rectify that”

* * *

**Blake**

Blake was making great time through the crowded halls of Beacon, on any other day she'd be impressed with this accomplishment. Well that's not entirely true on any other day she'd take her sweet time with the walk back to her dorm, content to laze about as she returned to her place of rest, but this wasn’t any other day. Dust it hadn’t been ‘any other day’ for weeks now. Her ears twitched beneath her bow as she heard words of veiled threats sent her way as she ran, these threats weren't uncommon for her. This treatment was one she'd experienced many times before… but never here at Beacon and never in her guise as a human.

She tried to ignore them as she ran but it was omnipresent, a part of her felt defiled by the judgment and another part felt like her hackles were raised. She'd been on edge the past two weeks, this once safe school had become a dangerous location, her and her teammates had become persona non grata and, if Blake was being fair, her paranoia had gone into overdrive of late. 

_Is it actually paranoia is I’m actually surrounded by enemies_. She mused as she hopped over the heads of a group of students rude enough to chat in the middle of a hallway. _They’re not your enemies Blake they’re your fellow students, they won’t attack you._

That thought felt hollow in her skull and try as she might she couldn’t bring herself to play along with the lie. People were scared and when people get scared they lash out and they’d lash out against her for being even tangentially related to the present problem. _Yang. _That thought was poison in her head and she was unsure how to feel. She skidded to a halt outside her dorm door and threw herself inside.

The dorm was a strange sight now, Weiss was sat in front of the desk with her hair undone and clear signs of recent combat all about her. Ruby was standing just behind Weiss leaning against the desk her whole-body tense while her hands were busy reassembling Crescent rose with casual ease. In front of both girls leaning against the window frame was a lanky grey man who Ruby referred to as ‘Uncle Qrow’. Ruby gave Blake a smile at her entrance while Weiss merely glanced over her.

_That tension is still there it seems. _Blake thought remembering her shouting match with Weiss right before this whole mess devolved.

"I got your message Ruby," Blake said slightly out of breath, she shut the door behind her. "What's going on?"

"Ruby's uncle has some information concerning Yang," Weiss said looking at her own hands rather than at Blake. "We wanted you to be here before he told us"

Everyone’s eyes shifted to the teacher in their midst. A thousand thoughts were running through her head about what ‘information concerning Yang’ meant and she was certain her team were considering similar things.

_Did they find the body_? Being the grimmest of ideas. Qrow let out a sigh before turning to face them, his hand briefly drifting towards the flask at his hip before being locked into his folded arms. He took a deep breath before he spoke.

“Yang’s alive”

When Qrow had finished speaking, when he had finished explaining every detail of the event, the room seemed like an entirely different world. Ruby was clutching onto him weeping joyful tears crying as she held onto her uncle, while Weiss simply covered her mouth and cried shaking tears picturesque even in this emotionally compromised state. Blake, on the other hand, was quietly slouched against the corner of her make-shift bunkbed. 

“I didn’t kill her, I didn’t kill her” Ruby repeated again and again through her tears. “I didn’t kill my sister!”

"No Ruby you didn't," Qrow said patting her back. Ruby was settling down, that was good, great even. Blake was anything but settled.

_Oh, dust it's happening again_. Qrows description of Yang sent a chill running up Blake’s spine, the Grimm masks just like the white fang, the emotionally targeting attacks. There was a grim similarity here that was sending Blake’s heart racing. Her hands were shaking her breath was coming in short bursts. _I’m having a panic attack!_

Blake stumbled crashing against the bedpost and shaking the already precariously balanced bunk-bed. A stack of books fell loose from the bed and the top bunk collapsed onto the bottom bunk in a deafening crash. Blake gripped her chest and took in quick shallow breaths trying to regain some control ignoring all that was around her.

_I just do this to people, don’t I? I turn good people rotten don’t I, I need to run need to get out of here! Adam Yang Adam Yang!_ She started to struggle to get up somehow escape. _I can’t be around people, They’ll go bad too! I know they will._

A warm hand touched Blake’s shoulder and she flinched away in surprise, turning to look into Ruby’s Silver eyes. Those eyes were stained with tears and her cheeks were puffy red from her crying and yet there was a strength to those eyes and a solidness. Blake needed that solid rock.

“Blake.” Just Ruby saying her name was enough to lessen the mania in Blake’s mind. “Deep breaths Blake, breath deep”

She said it slowly, breathing with Blake and sticking close until the Faunus had recovered her breath. It shook Blake, despite the fact that Blake had denounced her sister and was having a panic attack after hearing that Yang had survived, Ruby was still there to help her teammate.

_No one could ruin Ruby._ Blake thought, bringing her breathing back to normal and sitting up into a less precarious position. She nodded to Ruby and Ruby simply nodded back satisfied that her teammate had herself under control. 

“So Yang said she was a ‘secret’ Faunus?” there was half a chuckle in Weiss’s voice when she asked Qrow. “After Blake’s big reveal you’d think she would come forward with something like that”

Weiss was joking around a bit in an effort to distract from the big question looming over everyone’s heads _What do we do now?_ Qrow scratched the back of his head letting out a half-hearted laugh.

“No Tai and… Yang’s mom aren’t Faunus. Pretty sure Yang was jerking me around” Qrow answered not noticing Ruby hug herself at the mention of ‘Yang's mom’. Blake, on the other hand, did see. "Still she had a Grimm mask on. Might be worth it to see what the fang in Vale knows"

"The white fang isn't the only group who wear Grimm-masks you know?" Blake retorted clearly annoyed. _Though I shouldn’t be, now isn’t the time for that kind of behavior._

Qrow to his credit was just as quick as Blake was in his response. “Then check all those other Grimm-mask wearing groups too. We’re in the early weeks of this, if we act quickly, we might be able to find her before anyone else does”

“Where’ve you been Uncle Qrow?” the room froze as the question lingered in the air, the question was almost as shocking as the one who asked it. Ruby was half asking half accusing when she spoke. “When Yang escaped you were somewhere else, and since then you’ve been gone most of the time. I know you have missions but you were spotted on campus a few times. What have you been doing? I needed your help. Yang needed your help.”

Qrow swallowed before sitting himself on Weiss’ bunch letting out a tired sigh that reminded Blake of her father when the white fang turned militant. This time Qrow did take a swig from his bottle.

"Tell me, kid, what's your favorite fairy-tale?"

* * *

He was shivering behind his Grimm-mask, and yet his sweat was making the inside of his hood cling to the back of his neck. He took in huge gulps of breath as he ran through the docks darting between crates and storage rooms, the whole time the sound of his brethren in a fiercely one-sided battle was echoing back at him. Panic gripped Cernia as he contemplated removing his white fang uniform for the third time in the past minute.

_I mean I’d be naked but if this thing is after the fang who fuckin cares?_. He thought to himself as he shoved himself into an open crate. He started to remove the mask when another thought interrupted. _But if she’s attacking us cause we’re Faunus ill need all the armor I can wear._

Cernia had been going back and forth with this debate of to strip or not to strip for the last five minutes. Suddenly the sounds of gunshots and explosions died downed and Cernia was trapped in a dark empty crate with deafening silence. The quiet was worse than the sounds of battle and he felt an old, almost primal feeling take hold inside him.

Once, when he was young, Cernia had explored the deserts of Menagerie. While he was out there he became lost. In the 2 days that he was lost he'd been stalked by a lone Beowulf. The situation had been terrifying, having to struggle to hide and keep his mind on other things while the oppressive feeling of a predator bearing down on him threatened to overwhelm him. He'd been afraid of the desert since that day and always stuck to heavily guarded cities and kept well away from forests.

It had all been for naught it seems since in this silence he felt that same oppressive terror that he had when the Beowulf was right behind him. He blew out a shaking breath and pressed his back to the container walls.

_Keep calm, keep calm. Follow the protocol._ He thought as he pulled out his scroll with shaking hand. He knew he had to get a message out to his higher-ups or risk their ire if he survived and sent them nothing. _Although that’s a big if._

Still, if he was going to be stuck trapped in this room he'd be safest distracting himself from the predator stalking him and his outside. His fingers tapped silently over the screen trying to write the message properly when there was tapping on the wall behind him. Cernia nearly jumped out of his skin at the noise and had to clamp his hand over his mouth to stop himself from screaming out loud in shock. That predator feeling was going into overdrive and despite his best efforts, he couldn't drown the fear out.

Metal started to scream as something pried at the crate’s walls pulling them apart with impossibly strong hands. The first thing to poke through the newly torn hole was a Grimm skull and red glowing eyes.

_No no no no. I’m going to Die! I’m going to die! _The Grimm's claws tore the hull apart like it was made of tissue paper and Cernia felt tears of terror run down his cheeks as he made peace with himself.

“Please I don’t want to die” he whined as the Grimm stalked towards him. Suddenly it lunged forward its claw shooting out and hammering through the wall right next to him. He Froze in utter terror unable to move, scream or run away.

“BOO!” the Grimm said and Cernia jumped back in surprise banging his head against the metal crate wall and sending himself into the unconscious void.

* * *

­_He knocked himself out._ Yang had to laugh, the whole situation was utterly hilarious. The same type of funny that comes from scaring smaller kids in a haunted house but magnified tenfold. This fanger had Elk antlers poking out of his hood and blue tinted hair that somehow seemed discordant with the antlers.

Reaching down Yang retrieved the scroll from the unconscious Elk-man and found the yet to be sent message to his superiors. This wasn't the first time that she'd seen a message like this, heck she was sure she found a have typed out scroll message in the warehouse she and Neo hit when they grabbed Emerald. Since that, though she'd picked up scrolls with messages just like this one on the scrolls of fangers all across vale.

**C: We're under attack, dust cache's exploded. An attacker in a Grimm mask.**

_And it's being sent to an A.T wonder who that is?_ Yang gave a shrug and pressed send on the scroll before retrieving her own scroll and searching through her target zones. She stepped out of the crate into the open docks, behind her there were dozens of unconscious white fang operatives and a whole crate of dust set ablaze, she paused briefly her eyes lingering on the snow-flake symbol adorning the side of the crate.

_Best not linger on the past, that’s what mom would tell you._

Shaking her head Yang checked back with her scroll and saw that the white-fang outposts were barely weathering the storm that was the Branwen fury. Each safe house, each base, even the tiny agents were getting jumped by her new team… who still needed a name.

_Roman, Raven, Neo, and Yang. The two Rs aren't the best when it comes to a team name._

**Y: Dock 4 taken care of, heading to safehouse 7.**

**R: Excellent! Remember to keep away from safe house 9 till later.**

**Y: you sure I’m running hot right now I think I could take Cinder on myself.**

That was an understatement Yang was buzzing with excitement and energy from these raids, the fights were intense and she was free to just unleash herself at them with not even the lingering feeling of guilt. She had to scoff at Ozpin and Ironwood, they'd both left the fang alone after the breach in vale and like a tumorous infection, they'd only grown subtly beneath the surface. At every place, she'd hit she saw that the White Fang was planning something big, either against Beacon or the Atlas military itself.

_I wonder how ole jimmy’s going to react when his guys find these broken and burning bases in the morning? _She let out a harsh laugh before grabbing ahold of the Fanger’s scroll and ripping it in half.

* * *

­­**Cinder**

Another light blinked out on the holographic screen showing that yet another scroll went dead. The holographic projection gave off a bluish light that filled up the measly tent that constituted a base of operations. The men around the holo-projections were all wearing white Grimm masks and even though cinder couldn’t directly see their eyes she could feel their staring gazes upon her.

The gaze wasn’t a leering, ogling or admiring gaze, no this was a more hateful spiteful type of look. The type of look that had a little voice inside Cinder’s head scream _I’m in danger. _She got a similar feeling anytime Salem was upset, so in comparison to that, these little would be revolutionaries were pretty much nothing.

A black gloved hand reached across the table and switched off the projection turning back to face her. Adam Taurus was enormous in size and could look down on anyone Cinder included, she was sure that this greatly enhanced his presence amongst his faunus peers.

"This relationship is no longer benefitting the white fang," He said flatly and like a fact. "We had a window of opportunity to strike and your operative fumbled it."

"I disagree" Cinder responded in her usually calming, wiser-than-thou tone that was getting harder and harder to maintain these days. "The tensions between Vale and Atlas have never been higher this is the perfect time t-“

"Retreat and wait for a proper moment" Adam cut her off. Cinder had to repress the urge to light Adam Taurus ablaze. Mercury, being more in tune with Cinder's moods, sidled away from the half maiden. "The conflict hasn't created division between Atlas and Vale it's forced them to work in concert. One huge united force centered at Beacon Academy."

‘One toe out of line' that's what she'd told Emerald and Mercury. ‘No missteps' she said as if the point needed to be expressed. Again and again, she'd made that point.

_Though it’s the poor workman who blames their tools._ Emerald had fumbled but Cinder had to admit it was she who let it all crumble around them after that. She'd been so concerned with finding Pyrrha, the new fall maiden, that she'd lost her most powerful asset, her assassin, and Roman Torchwick. Since then her relationship with the Fang had become… Strained to say the least.

“A united force that is distracted with the Grimm at the moment, with our forces we might-”

Again she was interrupted this time by the masked lieutenant “Our forces are nothing, 2 weeks ago we-!”

“Silence!” she let out in a hissing roar that caused Mercury and half the Faunus present to jump. “I was speaking to your commander, not the tiny little bug that you are!”

A flame blazed behind her eyes and the temperature of the room rose noticeably, she took a step towards the Faunus just waiting for him to give her an excuse to make an example of him. _That would be a great way to keep these animals in line._

The thought pleased her almost as much as Adam Taurus stepping before her displeased her. He lifted his sword still sealed in its scabbard but the threat was clear and she knew how quickly he could draw the blade.

“He and I are of the same mind. Your venture has cost us men and resources.” As Adam spoke she burned the air around him making sure he knew who was in charge here, he seemed to shrug it off with some effort. “We were with you when you had a plan and resources, now you’re lacking both and we’re bleeding our forces”

Cinder gripped the bridge of her nose so hard she worried she might break it. She let out a tired sigh. As much as she’d hate to admit it; she needed these animals and she especially needed this Adam Taurus. She couldn’t intimidate them into subservience anymore it seems her own fumbling had shown weakness to them and they no longer feared her.

_The sap rather than the sword it is then._

“Then a simple job will have to suffice, a last alliance between to two of us until both our resources are replenished and a partnership can be brokered yet again” the tension in the room lessened at her words and she smiled her cruel knowing smile to all present. She lifted a finger “one job; I need you to find and kill one woman, a beacon student”

A couple Faunus lent in, now they were curious, with a quick movement Cinder flung the photo onto the desk and when it had finished spinning all could see the long red hair and bronze crown atop her head.

"Find her and I will be in your debt" despite the White fang's disdain for her they were silently awed at the prospect. Now was the time to twist the knife. "Kill her and I will give you the greatest weapon in the world"

_I’ll grant you a first-hand look in fact_. And when Adam Taurus gave the nod of agreement Cinder couldn’t help but sneer in satisfaction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a review and enjoy. ill try to update more consistently


	30. Zeroing In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions build in Vale as the Goliaths near, Yang sets her sights on a hated foe and Cinder's impatience drives mercury to a desperate gamble

**Yang**

The ship shook as Roman gunned it through the raging sands of Vacuo’s desert.

“Shit shit shit!” he swore more to himself than to anyone present, slapping his hand against the bullhead’s stick as if the abuse would make it fly faster. Yang took hold of his shoulder, steadying him where he stood.

“Calm down Roman!”

“Calm down? Calm Down!” he looked around searching for another sane person in the cabin. “I’m sorry, we’ve got the fall maiden on our ass. Tell me why I should remain Calm!”

Yang let out a tired sigh she could empathize with him now Pyrrha on her ass was not the best situation possible but cooler heads had to prevail here. “She’s still in Vacuo and like the rest of Atlas’ forces she’s as far as possible from us”

Roman did relax a bit under her grip at that, Yang decided to press forward just to doubly make sure that Roman didn’t crash their ship in the middle of a Grimm infested desert.

"Besides, now we know where she is. Wouldn't be fun for her to just FALL on us when we meet with Ironwood" it took Roman a second to understand what Yang just did and after the groan and the punch to her hip, she decided to leave him to his piloting duties.

Turbulence still rocked the cabin but the speed had been reduced from insane to something manageable. Inside the inner fuselage, Neo was balancing herself on the tip of her index finger, her legs bent and spread out and her body contorted in odd ways to maintain her position. The cabin shook and her legs adjusted and she maintained her position in the center of the ship.

Yang reached out and pushed one of her legs causing Neo to stumble and catch herself on the index finger of her other hand. Yang smirked down at her, the assassin smiled right back and a tiny needle thin knife appeared in her non-balancing hand. It was the way things were and Yang even found Neo’s psychosis endearing nowadays, despite what that might mean about her own mental state.

When Neo’s eyes flashed ice blue for a moment Yang’s smile faltered, but the blue was gone in a literal blink of the eye. Neo brought her finger up to her lips and mimed the shush sound. Yang was unsure of what to do with that display and hoped that it meant the ice-cream girl would keep her mouth shut.

Yang gave her a gracious nod before steeling her resolve to deal with a much more intimidating creature: her own mother. She put her hand against the door to the storage cabin took a deep breath and opened it.

The storage cabin was rather sparse, there were a few dust crates here and there, the heating unit and a few pieces of equipment for long desert journeys. Sat atop one of the many dust crates was Raven Branwen, Yureru in her left hand and a whetstone in her right. The dust steel sang as the sharpening stone was dragged across it.

Her mask was off and she was looking down at the sword and not at Yang. Yang simply stood in the doorway for a few seconds.

_She seems busy, I should come back late, I’m sure that whatever she wanted to tell me can wait, probably wasn’t that important anyway. _The thoughts raced through her mind as she convinced herself that yes leaving would be the bestest thing to do right now, so she started turning back towards the cabin and Neo.

“Yang!” The voice was like an icicle knife drawn across Yang’s spine and she froze in her half turn. “Come in close the door.”

It wasn’t shouted like an order, there was no growl in her mother’s voice like the Grimm in the forest and yet it was not a command to be denied. Slowly Yang entered the room and shut the door behind her. The clang of the door closing seemed to echo a bit too dramatically for Yang’s taste.

The loud closing made a fitting juxtaposition to the silence that followed it. The turbulence seemed to decrease, the engines had quieted and worst of all Raven had stopped sharpening her sword. The Silence was driving Yang crazy so she coughed and tried for conversation.

“I cleared everything up with Roman, hehe” she let out a fake chuckle and scratched her head. Raven was statuesque in her silence. “He was flipping out about the Fall maiden, but I took care of that. I figured it’s better that we know where she is now rather than worry about where she might be”

Again no reaction.

“Dust I was worried he might bolt and ditch the job he was so scared, not that I blame him, Pyr-“

“Yang” Yang shut her mouth as her name was called. Her mother was looking at her with a bit of a curious look and had her fingers steepled between her knees. “I don’t think you’re ready for this job.”

Well, that was unexpected. Yang just stood there as she processed the words that had just tumbled out of her mother's mouth. Her brow furrowed as she understood the words and the hint of iron reached her nose.

“What?” she asked in a voice that was just a bit too demanding.

"You're not yet ready for this sort of job," Raven said meeting Yang's gaze with a defiant stare, her finger tapping the dust blade of her sword. "You being the one to kill ironwood would be a mistake”

“A mistake?! I’m making the plan! I’ve been waiting for this for two years!” she felt her teeth creaking as she gritted them. Raven looked away and crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you giving me an order Raven?”

The tension in the room was so thick Yang could have cracked it with a swift punch of Ember Celica, her using her mother's name rather than calling her mom did not help things. Yang's defiance was shocking even to her, but like a predator, she sensed a weakness; a chink in Raven armor and that gave her the will to defy her. That predatory feeling disturbed Yang and she felt shame for doing it, but she was free and no one, not even her mother would take that from her.

Raven’s hand ceased their tapping on the blade and closed together, she was quiet for a long time as Yang waited for her answer, she would not look at Yang. Yang was tempted to leave the room to let her mother stew when Raven's facelifted and she looked her daughter in the eye.

"You are free to do what you want Yang, I won't make you," she said and to all ears but Yang's that would be the coldest emotionless answer one person could ever give. But Yang heard the tiny warble in her voice, sensed the millisecond of hesitation and failed to feel the winds of Atlas in her words. Yang could tell her mother was upset and worried. "It's just my advice"

Yang had been given what she wanted but she didn't feel victorious, she was confused and disturbed, part of her was worried that this was, in fact, a test, Raven must have been testing her. slowly she sat down next to her mother and rested her hand on the older woman's shoulder. Raven just stared forward as if Yang hadn't been there.

“Mom… I can handle it. Trust me.” Raven gave a nod still unwilling to look Yang’s way. Raven was darn near unreadable when she wanted to be, Yang had prided herself on her ability to see through most of the walls Raven put up around herself, but when Raven was hiding something it would stay hidden.

She gave her mother’s shoulder a squeeze before standing up and walking towards the door. She paused in front of the door yet again before turning around to look her mother in the eye.

_I still don’t know if she’s testing me or if I’m looking too deeply into things._ Yang took a deep breath before speaking.

“I’ll think about it ok?” Raven nodded back and that was all that Yang got. “guess we’ll talk when we land”

“We will Yang” was all Raven said back. Yang wanted to say something but instead shut the door behind her as she left. Why was Raven acting so odd about this? it wasn’t like Yang hadn’t killed anyone before.

_Well that was a while back_. Yang thought to herself. _And it was heat of the moment kinda thing. But she know that I’m capable. She has to know I can do this!_

* * *

**Ruby two years**

_I can do this. _That thought passed through Ruby’s mind as she pulled the Trigger. Crescent Rose barked shot after ringing shot as Ruby unloaded the weapon into the approaching horde of Grimm, mulching a few with the powers of her shots. Her shoulder was turning raw with the kick of the gun against it. Weiss slid through the forest on sheets of her summoned ice slashing at the unending horde of Ursas. As Weiss moved the world seemed to slow down for Ruby and things seemed to come into place in her mind.

“Ice Flower!” Ruby shouted, without missing a beat Weiss turned in the air and summoned a white glyph right in Ruby’s line of fire. The air left Ruby’s lungs and she squeezed the trigger, the bullet shot from her darling weapon was coated in the power of the Icy Glyph and buried itself right in the maw of a King Taijuitu about to spring out at Jaune.

Ruby didn’t have time to take satisfaction from that extremely impressive shot and unfurled her scythe and set herself into the rhythmically reaping the smaller, weaker dark creatures assaulting the school. The emergency horns had rung out earlier that day, loud shrill screams that set people’s teeth on edge, a huge wave of Grimm was on the way. And that was the least worrying thing she’d had to deal with today.

_Magic exists_. That was an odd idea, made odder by the fact that there was some truth to the whole fairytale thing. A Beowulf lunged at her, she buried the tip of her scythe in the beast’s head pinned it to the ground and fired a shot at a creep trailing behind it. _Magic exists and Pyrrha is a maiden thingy._

It had all been hard to swallow even coming from her uncle who she trusted… or used to trust at least. But it all seemed so far fetched and felt like an excuse for not being there. And Yet Pyrrha was missing and Qrow’s explanation made a certain amount of sense to Ruby. Becoming a maiden would have been an honor Ruby guessed, that whole honor and titles thing never really appealed to Ruby. For Pyrrha declining might have seemed like an insulting thing to do.

Ruby scoffed at herself, she was sounding almost as cynical as Blake now. _Pyrrha didn’t do this for honor or to avoid awkwardness. _Ruby spun through the air, caught a Nevermore’s wing and with a trigger pull ripped the wing clear off. _She did it for the same reason you’re here now._

She caught a glimpse of a griffin soaring towards Jaune, she printed towards the toe-headed boy.

“Lancaster!” she shouted over the din of gunfire, Jaune nodded lifted his shield up. Ruby jumped pressed her boots to the shield and with a grunt of effort Jaune launched her into the air. Swinging Crescent rose in an upward arc Ruby bisected the oncoming griffin. As she fell to the earth a black glyph eased her descent until her feet touched the ground so daintily it was as if she’d been set down by a gentle giant.

"Thanks, Ruby" Jaune said nodding to her before throwing himself back in the fray.

_Pyrrha just wanted to help and protect people._ Ruby felt a shiver of regret as her mind briefly shifted back to Yang and she felt the Grimm’s eyes on her. _Where is she now though, if she's out there then who’s protecting her team?_

An Ursa charged right at her, she managed to bring the haft of her scythe up in time to block its slash but couldn’t move out of the way to avoid it pinning her against a tree. The beast’s breath was rancid and it leaned heavily against Crescent Rose trying to crush the young huntress with its massive bulk. Then a length of ribbon fell around the Ursa’s next and was suddenly pulled taught; jerking the Ursa back and up into the trees. Blake fell to the ground using the Ursa as a counterweight.

"Thanks, Blake" the Faunus nodded firing back into the oncoming horde, another opportunity hit Ruby's vision and she sprinted towards Blake. "Ladybug!"

It had been going on like this for a while almost 3 hours now, the Grimm were endless, and the tide was unceasing. It wasn’t exactly one of those worse case scenarios that professor _Doctor!_ Oobleck discussed in his class, the Grimm were coming in huge numbers but slowly, to wear down the defenders not break them in a huge assault. In a worst-case scenario as Oobleck once described it to Ruby, would mean the Grimm would strike all at once in huge numbers and unending ferocity, alphas would be everywhere and Rare-Grimm variants would become more and more frequent.

_Well, it's not as bad as it could be._ Ruby loaded some high yield dust rounds into her sniper scythe as she felt the earth rumble at the approach of further problems. _But it’s darn near close._

Suddenly Ruby’s earbud wrung out, she fired her shot, the force of which folded the Grimm’s skull in on itself and clicked the earpiece.

"You've got Ruby," she said trying her best to keep everybody's spirits lifted in these trying times. Fighting Grimm might be her happy place but she knew it wasn’t everyone’s.

“Ruby” A familiar and rough voice echoed through the earbud. _Uncle Qrow._ Her opinion of her uncle had gone up and down of late, he’d taught her almost everything, he’d been her idol, but he was absent a lot and Yang… Yang. _I can’t blame him for dropping the ball with Yang we all did._

“What’s up Uncle Qrow?”

“We could use some help in the north most quadrant” He was slightly out of breath on the other line, which was a new sound to Ruby’s ears rare was the day she’d seen her uncle out of breath. “We have goliaths coming in and could use the help”

“Got it! I’ll grab team JNP-“

"No!" her uncle cut her off. "Don't bring JNPR! Ruby, you can't bring them"

He didn’t need to explain why, Ruby knew that something had gone wrong when Pyrrha became a Maiden, whatever that meant. Qrow hadn’t been direct about that fact but she could just tell by how he wouldn’t look at her while he explained, and how he’d take a few sips too many from that flask of his. There was real panic in his voice when he’d asked her to leave team JN_R here instead of bringing along the extra help.

“Ok Qrow" she spoke softly into her earpiece, not bothering to hide her apprehension for her uncle. "We'll be there shortly"

With that, she let out a sigh and turned her attention back to the battlefield. The place was still chaos but significantly less than when they'd first arrived, Ren had finally shown his semblance and was making surprise strikes against the Grimm with his Grimm invisibility while also providing his teammates with protection. Nora was acting well in her role as the team’s powerhouse and Jaune was fitting into his leadership position well. Even down 2 members the combined efforts fo their teams had managed to lessen the Grimm threat in this area.

_He can handle this. _She thought to herself. _Jaune can’t handle Pyrrha though._

"Jaune!" she shouted over the gunfire and the roars, he turned to look at her, she motioned towards the quadrant Qrow had told her to head to. “We got new orders team RWBY- RWB_ has to head out. Can you handle things here?”

Ruby wasn’t sure what she’d do if Jaune said no. Would she leave her uncle Qrow alone in order to keep a friend safe, would she forced to abandon a friend to save a family member or the reverse. She was relieved when Jaune gave her a confident nod.

“Go. We got this”

That was all she needed, keying into her earpiece she connected with the remnants of her team. “Weiss Blake we’re moving”

“Got it” Blake responded dutifully not even pausing in her purging of the Grimm. “Where to?”

“We got to go back up Uncle Qrow." there was silence on the line until Weiss landed right next to her team leader and partner. Blake seemed to manifest from the shadows alongside the pale Atlessian.

"Lead the way Ruby," Weiss said, and Blake nodded in agreement. Ruby was lucky to have teammates like these, and she even though she doubted her skills as a leader she was confident they would be there to help her.

_You thought that about Yang too_.

The thought was poison and she kept her tremors hidden well, she needed to get help for this, but that was for another day when people's lives weren't at stake. As they raced through the woods towards their next destination Ruby felt an odd pulling in her soul and for some odd reason… behind her eyes. Her eyes had been acting up since Yang had left and somedays they felt like they might pop out of her skull.

**You have Silver eyes.**

That’s what Ozpin had said to her the first day they met. Mom had silver eyes too but what did that have to do with anything? The recent revelations were making that question a hard one to ignore.

_Ozpin was keeping secrets about the maidens. Maybe there's something with silver eyes too. _She shook the thought from her mind, she had to, there were Grimm about and lives were at stake. She had to keep focused. She couldn’t mess this up. _I’ll focus on the Silver-eyes later. But there will be a later._

* * *

**Mercury**

Mercury’s legs shot out in quick succession, moving in rapid arcs through the air. The mechanical servos and joints hissed and whirled as the moved completely exposed. His normal pants were made of a thick cloth that masked the sound of his bionic legs as well as hide the fact they were cybernetics. Although here in the secured and abandoned factory her could move about freely and listen for where he might need to adjust his mechanical bits.

It was a good thing to keep his mind preoccupied with. Normally he needed to preoccupy himself to fight off the ever-present and growing boredom, but now… now Mercury was too antsy and nervous to ever be bored. Cinder was pacing, her hands clenching and unclenching her eyes being drawn back to her scroll, again and again, trying to make it buzz through sheer force of rage. Normally the half-maiden was so calm and collected that Mercury couldn't help but feed of that relaxed know it all charm. Now she was like a huntsman with a dust abuse problem and he knew that if she lashed out, he was expendable, and she would put him down.

_I’m as expendable as Emerald it seems. _That had shocked Mercury the most; Emerald had been Cinder’s most loyal devotee and when she screwed up her punishment had been harsh and when she was lost Cinder all but wrote her off. _I guess she can do that when she’s got a larger prize in mind._

His foot hit a block of concrete and caved it in sending bits of stone and dust into the air. The grey concrete dust began to glimmer in the air and formed together into crystalline shards right before his eye. The shards shot at him, he ducked and dodged beneath them, his feet lashing out and shattering the glass projectiles as he ducked and weaved.

“Faster” a voice spoke from behind him. More crystals seemed to appear from the aether and sprung towards, him he did his best to shatter them, but it was a difficult task, to say the least.

“Faster” the voice repeated. Now Mercury could feel himself sweating, his usual cocky grin vanishing from his face as his foot missed a few shards and they struck him in the side.

“Faster” soon the slightest misstep led to a barrage of shards in his side, soon he was out of breath and his aura was a ragged shell of its former self. When his foot was off by a single millimeter and a glass shard struck him in the cheek shattering the last remnants of his aura, he collapsed to the ground in an exhausted heap.

He heard the sound of clinking glass shoes as she approached him huddled on the ground. Mercury looked up to see a very upset Cinder Fall looking down on him with a glowing fire behind her eyes. He wanted to say something but he lacked the breath to put his words together.

"You were a millimeter off in that last kick," she said, not even bothering to crouch down on her haunches, forcing Mercury to strain his neck just to look at her. "a toe out of place, you could say"

Mercury nodded, it was all he could do, he was so exhausted. Cinder didn’t smile, her frown only lessened.

_She’s not mad at me._ Mercury thought to himself as he flopped onto his back. _But she can’t punish Emerald, so I’m the closest thing she’s got._

A buzz rang out and before the first buzz had even finished Cinder had retrieved her scroll and put it up to her ear.

“Yes!” she said not even bothering to keep the anticipation from her voice. “What’s the status on the target?”

Murmuring could be heard over the phone and Cinder's face became more and more filled with Rage. On the ground, Mercury started to shuffle further and further away from his employer. He was glad her fury was directed towards someone else, he just wished that he wasn't in such close vicinity to Cinder when her anger flared. _This is most certainly not going according to Kiekaku._

"I don't care about the Grimm numbers, I need her found yesterday!" the murmuring pressed on. "Goliaths? They'll take a bit. Yes, she'll be on the front lines… look where the fighting's thickest!" a shout came through the scrolls and Mercury was sure that all water within 10 feet of Cinder just boiled. "be THAT as it may PLEASE look in either locations of structural importance or where the fighting is thickest."

That please sounded like it physically hurt Cinder to say. Pocketing the scroll Cinder flexed and unflexed her hands, heat lines radiating off the half-maiden. Considering how he'd just gotten the brunt of a punishment meant for Emerald Mercury was not liking his chances now that Cinder was super pissed at the ‘animals'. He took a steadying step back from Cinder and tried to consider all his options as well as assess all the available exits and which ones he could get to the fastest… should the need arise?

Then a thought hit him like a freight train that might solve all of their problems, give him some distance from Cinder while she was this pissed, present her with a calming agent and maybe even look for Emerald. He tapped his metal foot to the stone floor and Cinder shot him a look as the metallic sound echoed throughout the room. Mercury briefly regretted bringing the focus around to himself for a minute before his resolve steeled itself and a sly grin spread across his face.

"Hey Cinder, I have an idea," he said putting his old cocky swagger into his voice. Cinder seemed less than impressed and was silently waiting for him to get to the point. "I've been cooped up here for a bit, and the fang are clearly a bunch of incompetents right?”

That got him a nod of agreement from his stunning employer, who didn’t even bother to hide her anger towards the Faunus.

“See since we’re all ready going for broke on this endeavor, and since if we get our mission finished all the little worries won’t really be an issue for us” he paused for dramatic effect. “You know I’m a better operative than any of those Faunus losers, let me out of here and I’ll get you the results you need”

He felt his eyelashes singe as Cinder stalked towards him radiating ferocious heat.

“What did I say about a toe out of line?” she whispered, her voice dripping with tranquil fury. “We’re on the edge already and you just want to dive in?”

Mercury didn’t back down, he couldn’t. “We know the Faunus will screw this up, we’ve got plenty of disguises, and it’s chaos out there. I doubt the Atlas idiots have time to investigate me while the Grimm are pounding at their door.”

The temperature climb seemed to stall as Cinder eyed him with not a look of annoyance, but a look interest. That look was all Mercury needed to press onward. “And look, even if I do get caught in this mission, what’s the loss. Once you get what’s your's it's not like anyone in this kingdom could take you on.”

The half-maiden smiled at that, while she'd never admit it and anyone heard saying it would be dead before their lips stopped flapping, Cinder had a vanity issue. She wasn't stupid and could see when someone was playing her like that but Mercury hadn’t been lying, he’d made some great points and the Faunus were being less than helpful. She smiled at Mercury and gently inclined her head towards him, partially a nod of respect for his planning and a nod of affirmation.

"You're right Mercury," Cinder said her voice the cool purr it once was. "Your talents would be best used out there in the field not cooped up in this warehouse."

Mercury grinned at that; Cinder wasn’t the only one with a vanity problem.

“Keep in contact, make sure you find the asset, Alert me as soon as you do” there was a veiled threat hanging in those words and Mercury could almost hear the ‘don’t screw up like Emerald’ hidden between the line. “I look forward to your success”

Cinder’s eyes glowed firey as she spoke and the hunger was clear and present in her words. Mercury cracked his neck in response, donned his long pants and marched out the door.

"You got it, boss"

* * *

As the door closed behind Mercury, he let out a breath he didn’t know he’s been holding, his confident façade fell away and his mind raced in manic panic. The only saving grace was that he was finally out of that stifling room and in the open night air, the cold winds felt great against his singed skin and the chill air did wonder for his lungs.

_Guess that’ll happen when you work for a pyromaniac._ He shook his head refocusing his mind as best he could. _Get this job done, get on Cinder’s good side again then find Emerald._

3 Jobs, each one of varying degrees of difficulty. Get the job done: not exactly easy with everyone on this Pyrrha chick’s tail, but he just needed to find her not take her out himself. Getting on Cinder’s good side would be easy once the first job was taken care of, Cinder would be on cloud nine once the Maiden powers were fully hers. Finding Emerald… that could take a while. His hands reached up and wiped across his sweaty face. _I’ll get it done one way or another._

He let out a sigh and started walking between the warehouse alleyways towards the Beacon docks, completely unaware of the eyes watching him.

* * *

**Yang**

He was filled with apprehension and fear. Yang could sense it radiating off of Mercury even from this distance, the boy had a lot on his mind as he strolled through alleyways. Strolled… on his completely unbroken, fully functional and operational **LEGS.**

To say that Yang was fuming was the equivalent of saying a volcano exploding and destroying your entire corner of the world, was a minor inconvenience. Yang was surprised she could even sense Mercury's emotions since her own rage was so overflowing it was threatening to drown out everything else. The bloody stench of iron filled her nose, her hands were a shaking number and the drum of her heartbeat was letting out a staccato rhythm in her ears.

But the anger was not alone, as she stalked after the silvered haired butcher another emotion welled up inside her. Excitement! This was a rematch she’d love to have once more, he’d been holding back in their fight she knew that now, but she was smarter than she was then, tougher than she was then and far more brutal than she was then. He’d played her for a fool and not even given her the satisfaction of a real fight.

_He didn’t even let me break his legs! _She thought amusement surfacing up from the sea of anger. _If you’re gonna send a girl to jail she should at least be allowed to break one limb. That's just common courtesy! _

The roof tile beneath her fingers cracked under the pressure of her hatred and a strong and gentle hand fell on Yang’s shoulder dragging her back to the present reality. She looked up at her mother, who’s helm was hanging from her own belt as she looked down at her Daughter.

"Careful Yang" she whispered. "Keep that anger in check. This might be payback but we're professionals and our standards must be upheld."

Yang nodded back and focused her will into her Grimm mask. The mask still told her to go down and curb stomp Mercury but it was less the mad aggression that she was feeling before and was now more focused and lethal. Beating mercury was a job, not a pleasure… well ok, it would be a pleasure too. From all that Roman had told them, the kid had quite the kill list going to his name and Yang putting him out of commission wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Looking back to her mother Yang pulled her mask further down on her face, letting it engulf her face almost totally. It was a cold feeling having the mask all the way on but Yang convinced herself that it was a good cold not to be scorned.

"Where are Roman and Neo," Yang asked her voice cold.

"Getting in position to strike at the forces that remained with Cinder" Raven pulled out Yureru it’s red dust blade glinting in the moonlight. "You are going to deal with Mercury, returning him to us once he's been dealt with"

Yang cracked the knuckles of her hands in response, more than satisfying her mother.

"And Cinder," Raven said reaching down and donning her mask in all it’s Grimm glory. “Is mine”


	31. Convergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang's battle with Mercury begins, RWB_ deal with the white fang and the Terror of Goliaths come to the forefront

**Qrow**

There was music to her movements, a rhythm to her strikes. Qrow could almost hear the song playing inside the new Fall-maiden's head as she cut through the horde of Grimm like a scythe in the field. It wasn't really a song that Qrow Branwen would add to his personal playlist or really listen to when trying to relax, actually if he was captured by Salem he was pretty sure she'd play him this song to drive him just a bit crazy.

Her movements were full of rage and were bombastic, lacking the fluid grace Pyrrha once wielded in the sparring ring. Her shield was used less in a protective capacity and was more often slammed into a Grimm’s skull splitting it in twain. Milo was a terror as it flew around them spearing through multiple Ursa before returning to her hand to slice at a creep jumping towards her back. Qrow understood hating the Grimm but he could feel that this outward aggression was less about hatred of the Grimm than it was about rage regarding something else.

_That’s one positive thing from this avalanche of Grimm_. Qrow thought to himself shredding any Grimm that the young maiden was missing. He caught a glimpse of Pyrrha’s face both eyes focused and determined and both very very angry. _It got both eyes on the same track at least._

Suddenly an Ursa started charging toward Pyrrha, she roared back at it took a deep stance and in an instant, the winds in the woods howled and assailed the oncoming Ursa slowing its charge to a snail’s crawl. As it clawed its way forward Pyrrha buried Milo's spearhead deep in the creature's skull ending its struggle. Qrow jumped down and landed next to the maiden Harbinger held tight in his hand. She flinched at his landing and he was worried that she might strike at him for a minute.

"Nice work kid," he said out of breath "We have reinforcements heading our way"

"That won't be necessary Professor Branwen," she said in a tight calm tone at odds with her facial expression. Qrow shot her a confused look before gesturing to the new crowd of Grimm rumbling towards them.

"Really? Cause to me it looks like we're swamped with a Goliath on the way." Pyrrha blew out a derisive snort, but this close he could see that she was sweating her brains out. Maiden powers or no she still was a 17-year-old girl who'd been fighting non-stop for the past 2 hours. Dust even he was tired.

"I can deal with them" Pyrrha insisted, shifting her spear into its rifle form at firing off a few well-placed shots into the oncoming mass of creatures.

“Don’t be a hot head!” he snarled sick of this crap. The earth rumbled underneath Qrow’s feet and a tiny inkling of fear ran its way through his skull. He’d faced down Goliaths before, with a team of hunters, experienced men all and there were always heavy losses. So the maiden dismissing those beasts would be a perfect recipe for disaster. “You’re running low on juice same as me. We’re getting back up”

Pyrrha said nothing, no jape, no counter argument she just went quiet and settled back into the work before her. The goliaths were still a ways away but once they got here the situation would swiftly deteriorate. Qrow was certain that if push came to shove they could retreat, but with a creature like that and an already tense situation in Vale, a breaking huntsman line might just set off the tension powderkeg.

As much as it hurt him he had to call her in. _Stay safe Ruby._

* * *

**Ruby**

Again the earth rumbled as Ruby raced through the forest of forever fall. A touch of excitement jolted through her, she felt the same thing almost a semester ago when she’d first seen the elephantine Grimm marching around Mountain Glenn. Ruby deep down wanted to fight these creatures, expend the effort it would take just to bring them down.

Now they were on the way, and the direness of the situation was really putting a damper on her excitement over this showdown.

_But at least Weiss and Blake are with me. _She thought to herself being sure to not use her semblance too much to minimize her aura expenditure. She checked her clips, she had 2 full clips left and 6 shots left in her chamber and 4 special dust rounds remaining. _My shots are gonna have to be really accurate if I want to do more than annoy these goliaths._

“We’re going to see Pyrrha”

Ruby nearly jumped out of her skin, Weiss was so close to her and she’d been so distracted that the Heiress had frightened Ruby half to death. She waved her hands at Weiss in what must have been a childish display.

"Don't do that Weiss!" Ruby shouted in a faux annoyed tone garnering a quick smile from her partner. Weiss even laughed at Ruby's little antics, were this a month ago she'd have lambasted Ruby for being immature and not being mission focused. But Weiss was wiser now and more attached to Ruby than ever before, she'd seen the little red girl in the field and was well aware of her idiosyncrasies.

The smile faded swiftly replaced by Weiss’ serious face. “What do you think Pyrrha will be like now?”

That idea had been on Ruby’s mind as well and she wasn’t sure what to expect either.

"I don't know Weiss we'll have to keep focused on stopping these Grimm, we'll have plenty of time with Pyrrha once we’re finished." That felt like a lie and Ruby wasn't sure why, maybe she thought that Qrow would just whisk Pyrrha away once the threat had passed or worse maybe she thought that they wouldn't survive the upcoming fight. Either way, they had a job to do and needed to focus.

As Ruby and Weiss ran Blake was swinging through the trees on Gambol Shroud. She stopped suddenly looking off in a particular direction, Ruby stopped as well, raising her hand to stop Weiss in her tracks. Softly Blake jumped down from the trees and landed next to her leader.

“What is it?” Ruby Whispered.

"There's white fang in the forest," she said in a whispered tone, her golden eyes motioning towards where she'd seen them.

Ruby nodded back to Blake, there was no need to ask if she was sure, or how many there were, the fang’s presence here could only mean trouble and team RWB_ were the only ones there. They needed to be dealt with, Ruby knew, but as the earth shook beneath her feet another thought popped into her mind.

_The Goliaths can’t be left alone either._

“Which way were they heading?” she asked Blake chambering one of Crescent Rose’s few remaining rounds. Blake motioned towards the north; towards where Qrow and Pyrrha were.

_That’s can’t be a coincidence_. Ruby knew as she started up a tree, spending just enough Aura to get her up there. _But it does make things a bit easier._

She nodded upwards and Weiss and Blake joined her. hopping from tree to tree until they could spot them. There were about a dozen of them, in partly camouflaged armor and sporting customized weapons, most of them were above the average Fanger grunt and moved with a skill and precision that denoted years of harsh training. Ruby put her finger to her earpiece and whispered into it.

"Qrow you have white fang headed towards you, We'll deal with them and rendezvous with you after ok?" she said it like a question but it brokered no argument. They couldn't fight off the Grimm and the White Fang at the same time, it would be better if the Fang were taken care of right here and right now.

The other line was quiet for a minute spewing only dead air until a little crackle sounded. "give'em hell pipsqueak"

Ruby smiled her uncle was still in there and he still cared, despite her disappointment in him she knew she could rely on him to want the best for her. She pointed Weiss and Blake in two different directions to flank the fangers. They jumped off to wait for their leader’s signal.

"I won't let you down Uncle Qrow," Ruby told no one but herself as she lined up her scope on a particularly rugged white fang lieutenant and squeezed the trigger.

* * *

**Mercury**

There was something off, Mercury just couldn't put his finger on it, he'd been trained by one of the best assassins in the kingdom and had worked for one of the most ruthless would-be warlords on all of the remnant. He was not the type of person to be creeped out, sure he'd been intimidated now and then and while caution was a rarity he used it as needed. But he didn’t feel cautious, here in the back alleys of Vale he felt unnerved as some THING stalked him.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and for some damn reason, he felt like he used to when he knew his dad had come home drunk. A tiny bit of panic, the wafting smell of alcohol and hatred setting up a fight or flight response, and the minuscule feeling that he deserved what was about to happen.

"Fuckin heck I'm getting jumpy" he spat to himself. He was being followed, nothin new about that, it's happened before and he'd done it himself a dozen times. He kicked the dirt and sent the chamber of his gun boots spinning it was a comforting habit he'd picked up since arming himself with the weapons.

_Dust! What am I jumpy about? I’m the 2nd toughest bastard in Vale. _Mercury thought to himself confident that even if someone jumped him he'd be more than a match for them. He kept his Aura up anyway, just in case they blitz attacked him before he could raise it.

Suddenly his eye caught something in the alleyway ahead of him, he paused in his walking and stared up at it, putting on his smuggest smirk he could muster. The shadow on the roof just stared back at him, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he was able to make out the white of a Grimm-mask.

“Well, well, well is the White fang keeping an eye on their employers? I doubt she” he nodded his head back the way he’d come, back towards Cinder. “Would appreciate being watched”

The watcher remained silent, just stared at him. He smirked up at it. "I don't appreciate the unwanted attention either, so do yourself a favor and Fuck off!" Silence and further stares were his only response. Slowly and still silently the figure stood, lifted her leg and stepped off the roof. She fell with the grace of someone used to falling and she hit the ground into a half-crouching stance.

She made no noise as she hit the dirt and instantly the alarm bells began blaring in Mercury's head. That silence was just unnatural and if it was some sorta aura trick, it was a trick beyond the Faunus in the white-fang. 

_Except for maybe ole horn head_. He was forced to admit as the masked woman before him slowly rose from her crouched stance. She had a white Grimm-kimono draped over her arms covering them, a black tank top on and a Grimm-Ursa mask latched to her head. _And she is clearly not horn head. _

“Look if you’re gonna mug me, would you mind going easy on me?” he said with all his arrogant charm, trying to mask that little taijitu of fear stuck inside his head. The woman actually responded this time, she laughed a light laugh that reminded him of sunshiny days… and old enemies.

“You wish” and Mercury put two and two together and was sufficiently creeped out.

* * *

**Yang**

_I should not have done that. _Yang thought to herself laughing both inwardly and a bit outwardly. _But dust does it feel satisfying._

She wasn’t content to just sit in the shadows and wait for the exact right moment to strike at Mercury while his aura was down and his back was turned. Yang wouldn’t have felt right to fight him like that. If she was gonna beat him it was going to be in a fair-ish fight, she was going to get her money’s worth from this smirking sneering worm. She was happy to see the shock on his face and sense the apprehension wafting off him upon her reveal.

"Hey, blondie. Nice to see you're not dead" Mercury sneered his voice dripping with contempt and mockery. He reached down and patted his leg wincing as he did. "Leg's still not 100 percent I'm afraid so we'll have to postpone that rematch of ours."

There was a hunger in Yang that told her to rush over there and rip him to pieces, to give in to her animalistic rage and rip him a new one. She put that voice down, despite how tempting its song was and thought of her mother's words.

**Let the opponent make the first strike, find his rhythm and punish him for it but never underestimate him.**

She let out a hissing breath between her teeth and took a ready stance, shed the arms of her kimono and lifted her fists up, exposing the new Ember Celica to the world. Their white and red metal gleamed in the moonlight and as they were exposed Yang felt that everything was somehow balanced in the world. Mercury’s eyes lingered on the exposed cestus for a minute before taking on his own offensive stance.

"See you got some new duds, I dig'em" he inched forward slowly, just like in the arena. Back then he'd unleashed a spin kick, from there his fighting style had been quick yet devastating, his kicks breaking bits of the arena at the time. Yang had fought him before and the way she'd won was to close the distance with him and keep the combat tight while relying on her semblance to boost her strength.

_But he meant to lose that fight. _She thought not inching closer to him as she did in the arena, instead contenting herself letting him come to her. _He probably has a way of disengaging from my rolling punches._

"Who makes your weapons I'd love to get myself a pair of King-Taijitu boots" he kicked the ground sending out sparks as he approached, he was trying to make Yang flinch to get her on the wrong foot. Once she was tumbling or lashing out he'd strike; end the fight quickly. Unfortunately for him, Yang knew it. "I heard your team-"

"Do you want to know where Emerald is?" and like that Mercury's taunt turned to ash in his mouth. He stopped in mid-sentence and Yang could sense the apprehension in his mind, that niggling doubt with just a splash of anger and surprise. "She mentions you all the time since I grabbed her"

“Where is she?” he asked his voice shaking in barely concealed rage. “Where’s Emerald freak?”

"You know it wasn't even that hard to grab her," Yang said ignoring the question and pointedly looking away from Mercury. Her stance relaxed and she even shrugged for him. "I mean that girl is too reliant on her semblance. She thought it would save her but then BAM!" Yang's fist hit her palm. "She went out like a light, man you shoulda be-"

And that’s when Mercury attacked. Yang heard his foot scrape off the pavement first, she knew he was coming for her and she was ready for him. At the side kick flew right at her temple Yang fired her shotgun gauntlets in front of her and launched herself backwards. Crashing into the nearby wall Yang launched herself off the brick building at Mercury, as she flew towards him she pulled her fist back as if she were about to hit him with a right hook.

Seeing the blow coming Mercury brought up his arm to defend against it, but as Yang pulled her fist back she kept the momentum, moved around Mercury’s defenses and smashed her elbow into the unguarded right side of his head. Mercury stumbled, but did not fall, Yang knew that this fight wouldn’t be finished in one punch. As Mercury stumbled his own foot lashed out and clipped Yang across the Grimm mask battering her away from him.

Yang let out an animal snarl at the kick and chambered a round into her gauntlets. Mercury was already handspringing away when she unleashed her barrage of slugs. When the last blast came right at him he spun in the air and kicked it aside, landing on the ground in a low lunge. The smirk was back on his face, he knew he’d been toyed with and wouldn’t lash out like that again.

_That’s fine by me._ Yang thought bouncing on the balls of her feet, adrenaline flowing through her like a raging river. _I’m gonna beat him properly._

She ran at him, she knew that he was waiting for it and his deepening smirk confirmed that, but she wanted to draw out the attack from him and establish what Raven called **The Rhythm. **He planted his palm on the ground and spun his legs around knocking against Yang’s defenses and blocks. Mercury’s kicks were lighter now, but much much quicker and he was maintaining distance far better than before. The young assassin knew the danger of Yang’s rolling punches first hand and knew to keep her from closing the distance.

As Yang ducked and weaved beneath his kicks her mind wandered as she relaxed into the simplicity of the fight.

_How is he in fighting shape? _She wondered as she punched him in the calf and felt his aura strain against her strike. _Emerald just made me see him lunge at me, but the whole stadium saw me break his leg, I felt the knee bust, the audience heard the crack. What is his secret?_

His leg shot towards her head and she flinched back only for the foot to pull back and crack into Yang’s stomach launching her back into the wall and on her hands and knees. She rolled away as Mercury slammed an ax kick right where Yang’s head had been a millisecond prior. Springing up from her roll she readied her senses to feed her curiosity. Mainly her sense of hearing and touch.

Mercury launched a side-kick towards Yang’s stomach she turned it away with her knee and her aura heightened sense on her knee told her something was off with his leg, not in the recently healed off but another way. He spun with the parry and slammed the heel of his other foot across her chin and into the brick of the wall beside them. Yang’s ears picked it up, there was a metallic sound as his leg crushed through brick and mortar.

Focusing her aura senses to her knuckles, she met his oncoming kick with a punch right into the oncoming leg. Like an echo in a cave, her aura senses reverberated out and back to her and told her everything she needed to know. She giggled at first as her other hand shot out and gripped the assassin's calf, it turned into a chuckle as he wrapped her arm around the leg and spun him around, she was laughing as she slammed Mercury into the ground utilizing a large portion of her aura and the momentum of her spin.

She barely noticed as his Aura flared from that strike, by the time Mercury had regained his footing and twisted around to face her, Yang was gripping her knees and almost laughing herself hoarse. She'd pulled her Grimm mask back and held her stomach as she was almost in tears laughing.

"Mind letting me in on the joke, since we're in the middle of a fight here," Mercury said unable to keep his impatience and frustration out of his voice. He did seem a bit disturbed by Yang's guffawing display and kept his distance.

"hahahaaha, You!" she said between the laughs. "You're what's funnniyehehehe"

Yang had it, her ploy to draw Mercury into a much-needed frenzy. He was faster than her and could maintain a greater distance, she needed to get him to lash out and act erratically. Now she finally had her rope that Mercury would hang himself from. What she was about to say was going to be cruel, and if it were anyone else she’d keep it to herself.

_But Mercury had this coming._

"That was a rad plan you and Emerald had. Make it look like I broke your leg" she casually put herself into a readied stance. "But hehe it's not like I can make you any more of a cripple."

His eyes widened, that was the only emotion he showed but Yang was almost overwhelmed by his rage. _Apparently, his legs are a touchy subject_. There was a spike in his fury and he blasted right at her.

But Yang was ready.

* * *

**Ruby**

There was an interesting dichotomy when it came to fights as a huntress. When faced with a strong opponent you must throw all you have at them and hope you don’t waste your aura. When fighting weak opponents, those without aura, you need to hold yourself back monitor the strength of your strikes and go the extra mile not to kill the person you're fighting. Against most white fang there was an amount of effort Ruby had to dedicate to not killing these Faunus, to not leave them maimed or crippled.

These present Faunus were neither too weak nor too strong, they were just right. She didn't need to hold back but she also didn't need to let loose. Honestly, it was the best she could’ve hope for, she smiled at the situation as Crescent rose's blade reaped the legs out from under one of the white fang lieutenants. She sped away into the foliage before the Faunus hit the ground. A few Faunus chased after her, the smart ones stood back, and as the ribbon of Gambol shroud wrapped around her pursuers and threw them into the air, the thrown quickly realized their mistake.

"Form up!" one shouted at the remaining Fangers with auras. They quickly fell into formation together, their many guns pointed into the woods where team RWB_ had been striking from. It wasn't the best plan but it was a good defensive action that might waste Ruby's time.

_And who knows how many more White fang members are in these woods. _The presence of this more professional squad was disconcerting, this close to Pyrrha and in the middle of a Grimm assault. None of it boded well. _This is a bad sign._

Then the sound of a rumbling hit Ruby’s ear and a second later the earth beneath her feet shook, causing the red leaves of the trees to shower down around her.

_That is a worse sign. _She swallowed, the Goliaths were getting closer with each passing second, Qrow needed her help with them and as relaxing as it was to teach these Fangers a lesson she had to keep focused. _Got to finish this quick._

It took her a second to spot the Heiress, she was sweating a bit and had removed her sleeves entirely, exposing her snow pale skin to the world. It was hauntingly beautiful juxtaposed against the red leaves all around them. Weiss looked up as Ruby sprinted to her.

“Did you feel that Weiss?” Ruby asked in a whisper

"Of course I did" Weiss replied not in her usual surly tone of voice but with almost frightening exhaustion. "What's the plan?"

"Do you have any tricks that can free us to deal with-" the ground rumbled beneath them making Ruby's point that much more poignant. "That!"

Weiss was quiet for a moment, before nodding. “One it’ll take some effort to pull off but I think I can manage it.”

That’s all Ruby needed to hear; she had the utmost confidence in Weiss. The Heiress had been her rock these past few days and had one of the strongest semblances out there. The Heiress stuck her sword in the dirt and started focusing her aura breathing in and out. Ruby brought her finger to her earpiece.

“Blake” she whispered into it “Blake you there”

“Confirm” Blake replied in a cool tone.

"Keep harassing these guys, I don't want them moving from this position. A few shots will do" if they ran before Weiss could pull off whatever it was she was doing, it might present more problems for Qrow and Pyrrha or the entire Vale defense as a whole. "Keep'em here ok"

“Roger”

Shots started to ring out that was quickly answered by shouts and laser fire. Weiss was muttering to herself as she rested her head against her weapon’s pommel. Her voice was different from how Ruby had ever heard it before it was more flowing and lyrical. _It’s like she’s singing, she never used to sing around us._

"…in this decisive hour, Grant me flame and grant me power" And before her, a glyph formed slightly above the ground and a creature crawled out of it that Ruby recognized. The form was the squealing braying form of the Boarbatusk Weiss had slain in professor Port's class.

The creature snorted and squealed and for a second Ruby was worried the fangers would hear, but then Weiss raised her finger to her lips and the snow Grimm was silent. It still moved as if it were making noise but in an eerie display, it remained quiet. It was like watching a film on mute.

"It's going to bowl them apart and send them into a panic, we need to strike then." Ruby nodded buzzed her earpiece and clued Blake in on the plan.

"We don't have time for questioning, Qrow needs us" Ruby lifted her hand, made sure Weiss could see it and with a swift motion cut the air. The glyph-Grimm roared and spun itself into a rolling bulldozer and careened towards the collected Faunus. Some of them had time to look shocked at the creature's approach and backed up as quickly as they could, while others were simply barreled over.

The Fang’s defensive phalanx was broken and it was then that she and Blake struck.

"Ladybug!" she shouted as she and the Faunus slashed back and forth against the confused stragglers. The ones knocked down by the Boarbatusk tried to scramble madly to their feet but were swiftly knocked back into the dirt by the Slash of Scythe and sword. The glyph-Grimm spun around the terrorists, corralling the other fangers inside the clearing and into Blake and Ruby's view.

The fight was quick and brutal and after only a few moments there was one white fang lieutenant left. The remaining one was a large brute of a Faunus with no clear animal traits on his person except for the long tattoo of a scorpion on his left arm. In his hand was gripped the broken remains of an enormous chain-sword, its chained teeth hanging uselessly from the weapon's handle.

The Glyph creature dissipated in a gust of wind and Weiss let out an exhausted breath as she joined her teammates staring down at the remaining Faunus. Her eye twitched as she saw him, clearly recognizing him.

_Must be that jerk from the train. _Ruby thought considering what a healthy amount of payback might do for Weiss after the terrible few weeks she's had. Weiss remained silent though simply drawing Myrtnaster and taking her fencer's stance towards the man.

The lieutenant's eyes lingered on Blake for a second and Ruby could almost sense the smirk. "Madame Belladonna, it is good to see you again, I'm sure commander Taurus will be thrilled to hear that you're alive, he's not been the same since you left" Blake looked away from the beaten Faunus, with slight shame on her features. 

_I’ll have to talk to her about that later_

"Such a pity to see you again in the presence of a… Schnee" he rumbled reaching out and grabbing the loose chain and ripping it from his weapon. With a pulse of aura, the chain wrapped itself around his arm and knuckles creating a rather grunge image. He took a step back from the huntresses hands raised in a defensive gesture. Blood was dripping from his arm and his mask had been cracked exposing his right eye. "I will be more than-"

"Leave!" Weiss said coldly, a twitch ran through the Faunus' eye and his arm started to shake in clear rage. Even Ruby was shocked by Weiss' response, she had expected the ex-heiress to want a little payback for what this guy had done on the train but she was mission focused.

_Go, Weiss!_

"We're on a busy schedule and you should pack up your fallen comrades" she waved her sword at the fallen unconscious Faunus. "and get going. Whatever your mission was, it was a failure and we're only showing you mercy due to the current pressures we face. So pick up your ilk and do us a favor and LEAVE"

That hadn’t been Ruby’s original plan but it was one that she could abide by, his aura had to at least be below half and his weapon was in tatters. His eye glanced down and he seemed to consider it for a moment when three things occurred in quick succession.

Firstly: the ground rumbled even harder than it had previously. Secondly: a loud elephantine noise split through the forest, a tell-tale sign of a nearby Goliath. And finally and most aggravatingly a womanly scream reverberated through the woods to them. Pyrrha's scream.

All parties turned towards the noise, the white fang lieutenant included, slowly his head turned back and even though Ruby couldn’t see his mouth she could tell he was grinning.

“For the white fang” he rumbled before shooting off through the woods towards the scream.

And team RWB followed.

* * *

**Qrow**

There was a great danger in deliberation. There is great foolishness in mistaking deliberation for slowness. People often looked at the Goliaths and thought that they were slow, that was usually the first and last mistake an inexperienced huntsman made. So when the Goliath's trunk whipped right at Qrow with inhuman speed, he was prepared. The black trunk ripped through wood like it was butter rather than 3-foot-thick Valean Oak.

A gale force wind blew in alongside the swinging nose, almost throwing Qrow into the air with its force. Harbinger was in full scythe mode now, since any less deadly form would be the worst kinda negligence on his part.

_Catch the trunk_. The old Alcoholic thought to himself, watching as the trunks length shrunk back to its original size and returned to the Goliath's face. The red glare from the creature was intense and would just blink slowly every few seconds or so. As if it was somehow bored by the whole affair its eyes drifted away from Qrow to the new Fall maiden.

Pyrrha was a good huntress in training that was true, Amber had been a great huntress and reveled in her maidenly duties. Unfortunately, Pyrrha had lacked the all too necessary experience and Amber… well, Amber had read too many fairy-tale as a kid and viewed herself as one of those old heroes. That was a bad combination and when the Goliath arrived she charged it, spear pulled back ready to strike out with flaming fury.

She didn’t even see the Trunk swat her out of the air like a fly.

Now she was buried in the dirt and was slowly climbing her way out of her impromptu grave, her face a mixture of frustration and fear.

“Just my luck” he grumbled to himself twirling Harbinger over his head considering his next moves and focusing his aura as best he could, he was far enough from the Maiden for his semblance to leave her be but close enough to the Goliath for it to fiddle with the creature.

_There are only a few problems with that plan_. Goliaths were deliberate, and while his semblance was effective against all opponents it was especially so against quick haphazard enemies. _I hate fuckin Goliaths._

"Pyrrha!" he shouted getting a confused look from the half-maiden and a curious glance from the evil Elephant. "Keep a ten-meter distance from me and get ready to help me take this guy."

She hopped out of the hole with a renewed vigor and determination that Qrow was happy to see. Gone was the slight sadism and madness all that was left was determination and focus.

_Both minds must be in sync. _The Goliath's eyes traveled from Pyrrha to Qrow and back again as if it understood what they were saying. _Who knows maybe it does._

“Keep away from the trunk, maintain distance wear it down!” The maiden nodded and loaded a new magazine into her rifle, no doubt filled with high impact dust rounds, and began sprinting around the beast firing as she went. The creature seemed to struggle to turn itself to maintain a visual on the speeding huntress, a visual issue made all the worse by Pyrrha taking precise shots around the beast’s beady little eyes.

One-shot got lucky.

The Goliath reared up on its back legs and let out a trumpeting noise of what might have been pain. Qrow's eyes widened as he recognized a clever glint in the intelligent creature's eye. _Uh Oh._

He turned to retreat and jumping from tree to tree, creating as much distance as he could.

"Pyrrha! Get off the ground" he shouted back as he ran. He expected her to look at him confused, that was a look he saw on many newbies right before their aura shattered and Qrow was forced to bury them. But Pyrrha merely nodded and was lifted off the ground as if gravity were things that only applied to mortals, as she rose she was surrounded by a black haze.

Qrow's shape became that of a blackbird and he flapped desperately away, always keeping his eyes on the creature. The Goliath, for its part, seemed to hang in the air with its forelegs lifted and like a thunderclap, it shot straight down back to the earth. The Ground exploded at its impact and the earth around it deformed like a wave. A wind followed the wave pushing out like a bomb detonating. The half-Fall maiden, for all her powers, struggled against the shockwave before she was flung backways like an empty sack in a gale. Qrow as a crow faired little better and reverted to his human form as he crashed to the earth. 

When the wind died down and he raised his head he saw a sight of devastation that he was all too familiar with. The Elephantine Grimm stood in a small crater of upturned dirt and all the trees around it were stripped of their leaves, even the grass had been torn out. They were surrounded by dead lands and naked trees. Some people speculated that Grimm are a part of nature and the natural order or some crap like that, Qrow always wished he could bring one of those egg-heads to a site like this and make them realize a simple fact that the rest of mankind has known for generations.

_The Grimm aren’t natural! They are an evil destructive force, nothing more._

The Goliath turned its head towards Qrow and dammit Qrow would have sworn to anyone who'd ask him, the damn thing was grinning at him. This Goliath knew that on this day in this place it was going to kill Qrow Branwen and Qrow knew it. He picked himself up off the ground and dusted off his coat trying to stare down the goliath right back.

_Maybe I’ve earned that death_. He thought rather morbidly. With a few clanks, Harbinger shifted back to its scythe form and he held it in a ready stance, daring the monster to charge. _Maybe after all the deaths, and Pyrrha and dust Yang! **Left my daughter to the beowolves**. Maybe I did earn this._

The Goliath trumpeted shaking the wind in a gale, though compared to its last show of power this was almost nothing. Then it charged towards him as the melancholy struck Qrow. _Bad luck and poor timing on that. _The Goliath lowered its head pointing its needle-sharp tusks right at Qrow's chest, it was going to impale him and his arms just seemed too heavy to lift. The Grimm was moving closer and closer, the ground beneath Qrow's feet was rumbling and everything seemed to slow down and move in slow motion around him.

_MOVE! _His mind shouted as he banished the miasma from his mind, he lifted Harbinger up and planted his legs to move, to jump out of the way of the charge. There was just one problem; the Grimm was practically on top of him now. He was looking up at the monster with its enormous size towering over him like a pathetic ant, it was going to hit him like a train and he wasn't sure his aura could tank it.

Pulling back Harbinger he was prepared to at least give the beast one last wound for the road rather than let it trample him to death without a fight. If the reaper was coming for him then he was going to spit in his eye. 

Just as the tusk's point was a foot from his chest, a javelin shot through the air and stabbed the Goliath in the back of the ear. The monster roared, turned at the last minute and missed Qrow entirely tripping to the ground, knocking over an orchard's worth of trees as it did. The sight would have been comical were it not such an impressive feat. With a metallic twang, the spear was plucked from behind the creature's ear by an invisible hand and flew back to its owner.

Pyrrha caught the weapon in the air and let out an exhausted breath, her face still split down the middle between an image of fear and anger. Her ponytail had been knocked loose and her hair was a disheveled mess around her, she didn't even bother looking at Qrow and her weapon’s form shifted into a rifle and she started firing at the slowly rising creature. When her bullets had no effect she let out a terrible snarl that made Qrow take a step back from the young woman.

The black Aura seemed to cover her for a second and he heard the metal of Milo straining, almost screaming under some unseen pressure. Then the bullet ripped from the barrel and the usual bang of the weapon was followed by a BOOM of sound barrier shattering proportions. The bullet smashed into the Goliath and drew an annoyed trumpeting from the creatures as it broke hide and drew black-blood.

She fired again and again until the weapon went click, managing to inflict some damage on the enormous beast. Qrow didn't waste time and charged the injured and slowly rising Goliath. Racking at its hind legs with his scythe. The Beast kicked at him and slowly readjusted itself to face its primary threat; the pissed off Half-maiden.

Milo returned to its sword form as she stared down the Goliath. "Do you even REALIZE WHAT I GAVE UP TO STOP THINGS LIKE YOU!?" She shouted at the beast as she stalked towards it. "I gave up EVERYTHING!"

She reached back and threw Akouo at the creature again the metal shrieked and strained under the combined powers of the maiden magic and Pyrrha's polarity. The Shield embedded itself into the Goliath's leg missing Qrow's head by only an inch.

"NO Pyrrha keep back" she ignored him, instead lifting her hand and wrenching Harbinger out of his hand and smack right into her waiting palm.

"I gave up my SANITY, my friends, MY LIFE and even MY CHANCE AT HAPPINESS" she brandished both her sword and her newly acquired scythe at the wounded beast, practically frothing at the mouth. The light behind her eyes was pulsing back and forth. Qrow wasn't a Grimm but even he could feel that Pyrrha's rage was the rage of two and those waves of anger were compounding one another. And he knew that Wrath was going to burn right through her. _Like it’s burning through Yang right now._

“Pyrrha wai-” before he could finish a man in a bloody white vest and cracked Grimm mask burst through the trees running at full sprint and was soon joined by Ruby, Weiss and finally Blake. Ruby had crescent Rose’s scope brought up to her eye and was taking aim.

"Ice-flow-" she stopped midsentence seeing Qrow in her periphery, she smiled, then she saw Pyrrha and her smile weakened and finally she saw the Goliath and her smile died. "Hey, Uncle Qrow… Pyrrha"

She turned towards the Goliath and took aim. The Monster’s eyes lingered on Ruby for a second too long for comfort before gazing back at the Fall-maiden. Then it lifted its hind legs into the air and Qrow started shouting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my take on Goliaths, I always thought they should be smart powerful forces of unnature. Anyway leave a review it always helps


	32. What we do for those we Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cinder vs Raven, Yang vs Mercury, need I say more

**Ozpin**

Ozpin had walked the dirt of this planet for the many years of his many lives. He’d seen all kinds of people, witnessed almost every single tragedy there was to see and in his darker lives committed a few of them himself. He’d been every kind of person there was to be (Barring a few horrific extremes) and he’d been everything from a king to a drunken peasant in those years. The things he’d seen and done haunted him all the time, over time he thought he’d get used to both seeing terrible things done and doing them himself.

But he didn’t.

As he stared at an apathetic Vale, a Vale once full of life now stuck in resigned carelessness, he felt regret for all he'd done once again. Military ships were flying all around the city and tired huntsman and huntresses were piling into transports, while wounded huntsmen and huntresses were piling out and some, gods help him, left in body-bags. He was hurting his students and he knew it, he'd done it before, and he'd done worse too. As his mind drifted to the young miss Xiao-Long he knew that his regret was also for the "Smaller" more personal sins he'd committed. 

But as powerful as he was, he couldn’t change the past, so all that was left to do was to focus and press on. No matter the costs.

* * *

**Yang **

Yang ricocheted off the brick walls and landed further down the alley, her gauntlets drawing sparks as she slammed them into the concrete to slow her momentum. She looked up just as Mercury’s flying ax-kick smashed into the ground and ripped a crater into the stone. Lunging forward she grabbed his shoulders and flung him deeper into the maze of back-alleys inching closer to Cinder’s home base. She wanted to catch even a glimpse of the fight between her mom and Cinder, she wanted to see her mom in action, she knew it was childish but she wanted to see it. _And mom to see me._

Instead of crashing into the ground Mercury kicked off the concrete and launched a shot right at Yang. Yang fired a counterblast obliterating the shots heading her way. Mercury landed and stared her down. That cripple comment had really pissed him off and he wasn't dealing with it very well.

_Not used to being on the receiving end, is he? _Yang let the smirk show as she stared back at the assassin boy. Her heart was racing, her adrenaline was pumping, she freakin lived for this sorta stuff. The excitement and adrenaline tempered her fury and distracted her from it but that anger was there bubbling beneath the surface itching to be unleashed.

Mercury rushed her at that moment, his kicks wheeling at her head sending Yang into a back-pedal. As if time had stopped Mercury's boot stopped right in front of Yang's face and she was staring down the barrel of his gun greaves.

_Uh Oh_. She thought a split second before his foot cocked back and shot a blast right where her head had been a second ago. Yang looked up expecting to grab towards mercuries leg and get him in a grapple, but he was no longer there. The bastard had jumped over her and delivered a scissor kick to the back of Yang's head smacking her sprawling to the ground and making her see stars.

She rolled with the kick trying to create more distance, had this been any other time he would have made some quip or mocked her or dust even just let her rise so that the fight could continue, but Yang had pressed all the wrong buttons so as she rose from her roll she was struck right in the chest with a shot from his gun greaves. Her semblance hungrily ate at the force of the attack, but she could feel her Aura struggling from the strike.

“I really hit a nerve didn’t I?” Yang snarled through gritted teeth. Readying herself for Mercury to charge her. “Not used to being on the receiving end are yah merc?”

He spat and ran at her launching a sweeping kick right at her ribs, Yang grinned and caught the kick, wrapping it under her arm. As soon as she caught it Mercury's hand launched out and smashed Yang right in the cheekbone with an open palm strike. It hurt a lot, but not enough to make Yang let go.

She pulled his leg back and up; lifting Mercury off the ground and slammed his back into the concrete. _Got him right where I want him._ Letting go of his leg Yang dropped her elbow right on his chest. His fist launched out, she tanked it on her chin. She felt her rage spike at that hit and the growling dragon inside her rumbled.

“**You **call th**at **a **Punch?!”** Something had distorted her voice but she barely noticed. She pulled back her fist and focused her aura to the tips of her knuckles. Mercury lifted his arms in a defensive position but Yang's fist just barreled through the block. It sounded like a thunderclap as it glanced across Mercury's chin and rent through the concrete next to his head.

Mercury’s face had a dazed look on it for a second, the hit seemed to have really jarred him. Yang jumped to her feet, grabbed his shirt and threw him through the corner of a building. Masonry and bricks rained down around Mercury as he struggled to get to his feet, still shaken from the focused hit.

Yang was shaking quite a bit herself, the adrenaline rush coursing through her was divine and something small whispered in the back of her mind. **_unleash the Dragon_**. It said so sweetly. Yang let a grin split her face.

“Now that was a punch!”

Mercury righted himself and shook his head. He turned away from her and spat out a tooth, rolled his shoulders and glared back at her.

"My dad hit harder than you," He said unimpressed.

_Oh, come on man you have to admit that was a good hit. _Yang thought to herself more than a little insulted by his nonchalance.

Mercury’s eyes drifted over Yang, up and down her exposed arms and lingering on her Grimm mask. Even though his eyes were all over her Yang didn’t feel like he was leering at her, she knew what that felt like and Mercury wasn’t doing that, no what he was doing was far more dangerous, he was analyzing her.

"Wow, Merc I'm not used to you acting all serious in a fight" she cocked Ember Celica and readied herself for a launch. "If only you brought this to the tournament!"

“Still woulda ended the same way; you in a prison cell” a twitch ran up Yang’s eye and her knuckles cracked. Mercury chuckled without mirth. “You know beating me won’t bring your old life back”

“And fucking up my life won’t bring your legs back” his anger spiked, Yang could feel it. He was almost as furious as she was.

“I can replace my legs” he kicked the ground, Yang Chambered a thunder round. She knew what was about to slither out of his mouth and she could have stopped it, but she didn’t. “but there’s no cybernetic fix for friends stabbing you in the back is there?”

Yang flew at him like a Dragon out of hell. She was going to break him for that.

* * *

**Cinder**

The reports weren't coming in. That was the annoying part, the silence. It used to be that Cinder would love the silence, mostly because she was the cause of it; when she entered a room people would shut up, she left conversations with the last word, SHE would have people waiting on her command. Now she was begging favors and waiting on the words of others, the white fang and to a less annoying degree Mercury Black.

She'd been lashing out at the boy of late which was ruining her months of effort to cultivate his loyalty. Usually, she'd praise and spoil the assassin's son but these developments have left her anger… untethered.

_If he succeeds in this task though I will have to make it up to him… somehow. I might even help him find Emerald. _She ground her teeth at the thought of that name, Emerald was an important asset, illusory powers were hard to come by, especially ones that touched on all the senses. Cinders hand drags across her face and she let out a growl remembering _The screw-up_. _That one misstep has cost me the whole operation and the comatose Amber! Oh, I'll find Emerald alright and when I do I…_

She took a deep breath and collapsed into a nearby chair. She'd been working herself into and out of rage for the past few days now and it wasn't exactly helping the situation. She couldn't help it, she was hungry. She wasn't hungry for food or drink, or even sex there was a part of her missing, a power that wasn't whole inside of her begging for its other half. Since the new maiden arose that hunger had only grown and been joined by a strange pulling feeling in the pit of Cinder's stomach.

_If only that pulling gave me a direction to go instead of sleepless nights._

She pulled out her scroll, again seeing no left messages or missed calls on it, she looked at her reflection in the screen. Her hair was disheveled, her make-up had faded and one of her earrings had fallen off, she looked terrible. But she was alone so who cares? She did, Cinder liked feeling pretty, it was another layer of power she could wield against people and her disheveled appearance only compounded on the pit she was currently sitting in.

She wished she could steal one of Roman's Cigars, let the smoke and fire calm her down like it always did, the kiss of the heat in her lungs right before breathing out smoke like some draconic beast.

“Maybe I should buy a pipe?” she wondered aloud as she sat relaxed in the chair.

_Or I could ask one of the fangs for a smoke. _She laughed at that idea, the fang had left a few agents behind to protect her "as a courtesy" but more likely to keep an eye on her while she waited for them to deliver. She'd ordered them out of the warehouse, she was just so sick of looking at them, they'd failed her too, failed to stay coordinated, failed to stop this force that was assaulting their bases, failed failed failed.

_I am surrounded by failure._ She thought wishing for a pipe to smoke even more. And then the sounds of gunfire hit her ear. It was coming from outside and it was very panicked. _Now, what!?_

* * *

**Raven**

Roman and Neo had already begun their crushing of the White Fang forces set to guard this witch and dust were they making a spectacle of it. As far as the Vale police would be concerned though it was just creeps killing creeps and wouldn't bring the attention of any level of authority that mattered. It made the situation much more private and… personal.

_Which suits me just fine. _Raven thought flying between the rafters keeping an eye on her target. **_The Maiden._**

Or more accurately Half-maiden. Raven cursed herself, she’d had an opportunity to achieve maidenhood herself once and let it pass right through her fingers. That girl was tiny, weak and scared, Raven could have snuffed her out and ascended but… she didn’t. That action might have been weakness and it might cost her her life right here and now.

She sneered, or as much as a bird can sneer, Raven might not have been a Maiden but what she was was enough for this creature. Flying behind a crate she shifted back to her human form and slowly walked into the open.

_No sneak attacks, no jumping her. _She brushed her fingers along her Grimm mask and waited for Cinder to turn and face her._ Power is what's most important to this woman. When I kill her she will be left feeling powerless and afraid. _

Raven stepped into the light her armor softly clinking as she emerged, her Grimm mask bone white in the light hiding her hate-filled glare for the woman who'd hurt her daughter! Cinder turned around and saw Raven, she was more disheveled than Raven had expected from all the ravings of the Thief Emerald.

There was a bemused look on Cinder's face, and she waited with one hand on her hip trying to show off an air of self-confidence and disinterest. It would have worked was it not for the underlying scent of fear, worry and apprehension that was wafting off her right to Raven and just a tiny bit of disgust to go along with it.

_Not a fan of the Faunus are we Ms.Fall?_

“Do you have a report?” she asked her words the peak of civility. Raven grinned behind the mask, this was going to be interesting.

* * *

**Cinder**

“Care to tell me what all the noise outside is?” Cinder asked looking the interloper up and down as she did. The Faunus woman before her wasn’t the average grunt, her armor was too high quality and her mask was far more intricate. Only lieutenants and that one commander, Adam Taurus, had gear approaching this level of quality.

_Maybe they called in the big guns for this mission. _She let herself feel that hope for a second before smothering it in its crib. _But if they called in a specialist why is she here and not after the maiden?_

Cinder lit the fire behind her eyes. It was a subtle show of threat but if the newcomer had noticed it she gave no sign, either meaning that she wasn't skilled enough to pick up on that or she had enough control not to flinch.

Still, the woman had not answered her question. Cinder nonchalantly rested her hand on her hip.

"Well since I don't feel any different Ill assume that you're not here to report about the assassination job," she said in a mocking schoolteacher manner that she saved for her minions. She was sure this tone was driving the interloper mad. "You're not giving me a report which means, you're not here to give me the location of the maiden. Which means…" she tapped her chin letting the dramatic pause build along with the fire in her palm.

Cinder moved like lightning and her hand was ablaze with magical fire as it pointed right at the dark woman with the Grimm mask. “Which means you’re the woman who’s been fucking with my operation of late. Thank you so much for saving me the time it would have taken to track you down”

Cinder had to smile, her heart was racing and she was thrilled at the prospect to just vent her frustrations out of this worthless maggot who decided to get in her way, to mess with her plans and to shame her in the eyes of …**HER.**

Instead of flinching away from the fire the woman slowly reached down, gripped her swords handle and pulled her dust blade from its scabbard. The woman wasn’t intimidated and that only fed Cinder’s excitement further, it had been so long since she’d had a challenging battle and with all the rage inside her this was an excellent way to unleash it.

* * *

**Raven**

Raven’s hand was shaking, it was such a minute tremor that only she was aware of. There was a lot in that shake, anger excitement and a tiny splash of fear on top of it.

_Fear can wait._ She thought slowly drawing Yureru out of its scabbard a red dust blade currently attached. Cinder sneered back and with a wave of her arms and a sparkle of dust two glass falchions manifested in her hand. She was almost as angry and excited as Raven was. _Almost._

The sneer turned into a small sly smile and the woman flew right at Raven. She’d pulsed her aura to her heel and launched herself forward at an amazing speed; it was a good technique and one that required significant aura mastery. Raven ducked aside from the oncoming point and jumped away as Cinder’s second blade slashed at where she’d been.

Cinder didn’t give her a chance to recover and continued to press her, switching up from slashing low to slashing high with only the occasional thrust. Always on the offensive, always attacking she hammered at Raven. Raven just kept evading and maintaining distance as Cinder attacked, her eyes monitoring the maiden’s rhythm and attack patterns, letting the desire for justice build within her.

Spinning around Cinder flung her right-hand sword right at Raven's face, the glass turned molten and changed shape to that of a shuriken at it flew at her. Raven struck at the glass with her sword, the shuriken shattered on impact and razor sharp shards racked across Raven's aura. She ignored them and pounced on Cinder while her dominant hand was empty.

Bringing Yureru in a sweeping arc she aimed to strike right at the maiden's head. It was an obvious feint and yet Cinder fell for it; she stumbled backward from her assault, bringing her glass weapon up desperately. At the last second Raven pulled her sword away and swung for the opposite lower leg instead.

She expected to hear the sound of Aura screaming and to smell the metallic scent of ozone in the air, but all she heard was the noise of Glass ringing on glass. Cinder’s stumbling fear was gone, replaced with that stupid sly grin.

_She’s good _Raven noted. Cinder lifted her unarmed hand and fired a ball of flame right at Raven's chest. The fireball hit Raven hard and she was thrown back by the force of the attack. She crashed into a crate, denting it with the force of her impact, she rolled away from the spot as soon as she was able, as two glass arrows rent through the metal she'd just impacted.

In the time it had taken Raven to fly through the air and crash into the crate, Cinder had turned her sword into a bow and fired two arrows right at Raven. Raven couldn’t help but respect that ability Cinder had shown, she was fast, talented and seemed to be able to think on her feet.

_Salem really knows how to pick them._

Raven held the sword in a high guard with the tip pointed at her enemy; her new respect being boiled beneath her anger. Cinder manifested another arrow in her lowered bow and its tip began to glow orange as the heat was focused through it. 

_Always treat her as if she is armed and ready. _Raven mused to herself. Cinder started to slowly circle Raven keeping her distance from her.

"Ozpin must be getting quite desperate if he's willing to hire an assassin to go after me" Raven turned to follow her and shifted Yureru to a lower guard. She could smell the air crackling with Ozone. "She was right about him… he'll stoop to anything"

The stench of ozone grew more noticeable, it was strong enough for non-aura users to smell. _She’s building up energy to throw a lighting bolt at me. _A magical maiden bolt of lightning was a devastating thing to see and would eat away at Raven’s Aura. Raven sheathed her sword and locked in a new blade.

“I don’t serve the wizard” she focused her aura to her senses, to the muscles in her arms. Cinder gave her a quizzical look and pulled the bow-string back further. “My actions these past weeks are your fault alone. I’m sure Salem will respect that.”

Raven primed around to shoot her sword out of the sheath, this would take intense timing, she'd have to pull the blade at the exact right moment and with the right speed. Cinder lifted her bow up and pulled the arrow back aimed right at Raven. The arrogance was like a haze floating above her, mixing with her anger.

_A two-pronged attack, the arrow is the distraction from the lightning. A deadly distraction._

“Is that so? Then tell me what did I do to earn a stranger’s ire?”

"Yo-" this was the moment Raven could feel it, the air spiked with the taste of copper, and tiny crackles ringed through, Cinder's finger lifted from the bowstring and everything slowed down. Raven spun, focusing so much of her aura in the movement, the unsheathing round and fired at the same time she pulled the glowing Yellow blade from the sheath. The Mage lightning was knifing through the air right at Raven's back, The Yellow blade intercepted the shock and as Raven's 360-degree spin finished she slashed right at the incoming glass arrow.

The magical lighting mixed and was focused by Raven’s aura, the lighting dust blade of Yureru and a more focused electrical energy was spat into the air as she swung towards the maiden. The lightning briefly caught the Glass arrow, refracting in a brilliant display of yellow light before jumping off and zapping Cinder right in the chest.

It all happened in the time it would take a man to consider blinking.

A thunderclap reverberated through the warehouse as Cinder was struck and flung backward her aura sparking at the strike. Raven's victory was short-lived unfortunately as Cinder's arrow struck home, digging into the meat of Raven's shoulder and searing it with heat. Raven hissed through her teeth at the burning pain in her shoulder, she'd been forced to focus so much of her aura to her arm that she'd left herself exposed. She'd tried to swat it out of the air but the residual electricity had numbed her arms for a second.

"You, Ahhhh! You hurt my Daughter you bitch!" she snarled through the pain. Cinder started to pick herself up from the ground, her body smoking as she rose. Her Aura flared but was still there.

_Damn it all_. Raven snapped off most of the arrow from her shoulder leaving the head in. She redistributed her aura and hefted her sword. Cinder summoned another pair of swords and stared Raven down.

As if on queue both women aura-stepped right at each-other and dust rang on dust.

* * *

**Yang**

The breaking of Mercury was going to be more difficult than Yang had anticipated. His rabid anger had given way to a more focused hatred and his defense was becoming more difficult to penetrate. Still, their fight was a traveling one, for with each flurry of strikes they'd inch closer and closer to Cinder's warehouse.

_He thinks he’s drawing me into a trap._ She thought unleashing a wide leg sweep at Mercury. The assassin handsprung away from her sweeping leg, launching a kick for her chin as he flipped away. She managed to jerk her head away in time to miss the kick.

That’s how the fight had gone, every retreat he made, he’d take a glancing bite from her aura, a kick here a punch there. Yang was getting in a few good hits but Mercury was getting more and keeping his distance. She refocused her aura, keeping a strong defense around her vitals, with a minimal defense overall_ just like mother taught me_. The aura distribution was working wonders utilizing Mercury's precision against him.

Mercury's flip ended and he was stood in the now ruined alleyway balanced on one foot his other raised in a defensive position. Yang, on the other hand, had a more animalistic stance, her legs were spread out in a low wide stance and her fingers were curled into claws at her side, she'd been growling for the past few minutes and every now and then she could sense tiny motes of fear in Mercury.

_If only it put him on edge_.

**_Unleash the Dragon_**. The whisper came back to her, it flowed with the sweet singing in the mask and she was not afraid of it, but she didn’t understand it. She let out a snarl. _What dragon?_

“So what’s gonna happen when you catch me?” Mercury was chatting again, obviously stalling as he inched towards his assumed safety. “Gonna take me to Ironwood to confess my crimes?”

“I might do that” Yang had no intention of doing that, all she wanted to do was stop whatever it was Mercury and Cinder had planned for Vale. “Hard to get a confession from a corpse though”

That caused one of those little motes of fear to surface in Mercury, it almost made Yang laugh. She didn’t know if she had it in her to kill him, to kill anyone really, but she wanted him on edge and not thinking clearly.

Mercury hid his fright with a sneer. "Maybe I'll bring you to Ironwood, I hear he's got a bounty on your head. I could use those funds to fix my poor poor leg" He gripped his raised knee and winced.

Yang struck then; while the fear was most potent, and he was overcompensating for it. She focused aura to her legs and legged it across the gap between them. Mercury stumbled for a second before kicking out three blasts with his leg. The first shot was too wide from Yang for her to consider moving out of the way, she had to duck under the second and was forced to focus her aura away from her running to dodge the last.

She closed the distance with Mercury, not at the speed she wanted but still. She shot her fist towards his face, he jerked his head back from the incoming strike, only for Yang to drop down and slam her elbow into his upper fleshy thigh. Mercury collapsed to the ground gripping his leg as he fell. Lifting her leg Yang set herself to deliver a devastating ax kick to Mercury's Stomach… or groin, only for him to fire both gun-greaves at once sending him skidding back and out of her ax kick's range.

Yang fired ember Celica behind her keeping pace with the would-be assassin, so when he rolled to his feet, Yang's knee was there to smash right into his smug chin. The blow launched him into the air and flung him further back. He rolled with the blow eventually skidding to a halt. He spat out a wad of blood, his lip was busted and leaking ichor.

_His Aura’s busted_. She grinned a toothy grin at Mercury. _Or at least damn near close to busted._

Then a sharp fiery pain struck Yang in the back, knocking her to her knees, then another and another. A whole flurry of shots burned at her weakly defended back. It was mercury’s shots, they hadn’t dissipated, they’d lingered and he’d saved them up to slam them into her back when she was least ready.

_Clever bastard!_ Yang thought over her shrieks. Her aura was decreasing, down to nothing, the pain was dizzying, they were so close to the warehouse she didn’t want her mother to see her like this.

_If I’m weak she’ll go away again._ That worry chewed at her mind as she struggled not to collapse completely from the surprise pain. The lancing agony was so great she failed to notice Mercury standing over her.

Well, she noticed him when his boot collided with her chin and she was flipped onto her back.

“Where’s Emerald?” he said calmly stalking over to her. His kick bit her in her ribs and she tasted blood in her mouth. “Answer the question Bimbo”

He kicked at her ribs again, this time Yang caught the blow and flung Mercury’s foot away while she rolled back to her feet. He stumbled briefly before turning to face her again. She was on her last legs here, her aura was all but expended and Mercury wasn’t doing so well himself.

**_Unleash the Dragon!_** Echoed again in her mind, still, she didn't know what the voice was after, but the dragon part seemed to resonate with her mind.

_Dragon? Dragon? _She thought, focusing her mind on the word. She felt a rumbling from within as she did, not only the rumbling of the Grimm inside her but the thunder of her Semblance demanding to be unleashed.

_Maybe that’s it_. She mused keeping her eyes on Mercury as he stalked around her, occasionally spinning the chamber on his greaves.

“Where’s Emerald?” Mercury hissed, not bothering to hide the hatred in his voice. “you’re finished! tell me and this won’t get messy.”

"Oh, serious I like that Merc" she mocked him, though he was acting much more seriously than Yang had ever seen him before. He was completely willing to kill her by this fight's end. "…Not sure it'll impress Emerald though"

That made Mercury pause in his step, he launched a spin kick at Yang’s head, Yang blocked it and fired a right hook at Mercury who ducked under and away from the blow. Both attacks were halfhearted, they were both exhausted. But still willing to kill each other. Yang had her ace in the hole though, her semblance bubbling just beneath the surface, her anger and recent beatings building a terrible power she’d saved.

_I have one great hit in me, I need it to be perfect._ She thought her eyes shuffling back towards the warehouse, she could see it now, Unconscious faunus littered around the base. Mercury was looking right at her eyes, he started to follow where they were looking when the sound of explosions and gunfire reached them. Turning quickly towards the noise, towards the warehouse, Mercury stiffened.

Yang lunged at him as he turned his head.

"What did you do?" He started to ask as Yang grabbed his collar sprinted further towards the Warehouse and flung the assassin through the air. Just like the times before he spun through the air ready to land in a relaxed position. Yang wasn't about to let that happen this time. Firing her thunder round at the descending mercury the round roared as it collided with the assassin, destroyed what was left of his aura and left him rolling to a stop on the ground.

Her victorious grin died when she tried to launch herself at Mercury and both gauntlets went click. _Uh oh. _Mercury grinned at her, even that far away he seemed to have heard the click and recognized the look on her face. He fired off a round from his still loaded gun greaves, it was then that Yang became fully aware of just how far away she was from him.

_Even with a full aura, closing that distance would still take a bit outta me._ They were so close to the warehouse, so close to Raven. _I was so close to making this bastard pay._

** _Unleash the Dragon._ **

"End of the line blondie" Mercury shouted down the alleyway, lifting his leg up his leg cocked back. "Tell me where Emerald is and I'll end this quick. Alright?"

_Maybe I should tell him where she is, buy myself some time? Maybe I should just bug out, mom will understand, right? Maybe If I don't tell him he'll be forced to keep me alive to find her?_

**_Quiet! _**She dispelled the nagging self-doubts from her mind and felt anger at their very existence, that wasn't her, she wasn't that weak. If Mercury was going to kill her then she'd give him a bitch of a time doing it. She grit her teeth and set her stance ready to give this grey-haired fucker a show before she bit the dust.

Then a scream rocked her world, it was sharp and full of pain. The worse thing was Yang recognized it.

_Mom?_ A new type of panic set into Yang, a type that she hadn't felt since Ruby went missing in mountain Glenn and Weiss dived into that flame spout in the tournament. It was the old panic that said that someone she loved needed to be protected.

**_Unleash the dragon_** and this time she knew what it meant, her gritted teeth seemed to harden, her senses were on peak performance and her nails seemed to shift into claws. Her red eyes glowed as she stared down Mercury across 40 feet of the alleyway. He was drenched in apprehension and fear.

“**Get out of the way Mercury!”** before he could respond to her monstrous words, Yang was across the distance in the blink of an eye and tackling him across the ground, towards the warehouse.

** _Towards mom_ **

* * *

**Cinder.**

_She’s fast! _Cinder was forced to concede as the furious ‘mother’ ducked and dodged beneath the many gouts of flame Cinder was sending her way. The woman slashed at her with a pearl white blade of dust and Cinder’s balls of flame were dissipated in a gale force wind. _And clever!_

Bringing her glass blades up she knew that the woman was going to capitalize on her current lack of flame. Sure enough as quick as a flash the dark woman was behind her slashing down with her dust blade. Cinder caught the blade with her off-hand sword and thrust the other towards the woman’s throat.

The woman instead spun away from the thrust and took a slash along Cinder’s spine taking a bite from her aura yet again. The sensory pain was momentary and Cinder pressed the woman, at first utilizing her right hand in her attacks and her left hand for defense. The dark woman was running almost on automatic as she blocked the attacks with an air of nonchalance.

_Time to change things up._ Cinder thought as she shifted the dominance of her hands and began attacking with the left rather than the right. It was an old trick, easy in concept but hard in practice, it had taken her so long to develop her ambidextrousness and even longer to train to wield a sword with both hands. _But it pays dividends in situations like this._

The alteration of styles was benefitting her wonderfully, the woman’s rhythm was thrown off and Cinder was scoring a few cutting strikes. The Dark woman started to aura-step away but Cinder reached deep into herself; into the maiden within her and rent the winds in her direction. The woman was flung back at Cinder flying right towards her slashing blades.

_Got yah!_

* * *

**Raven**

At the last second Raven ducked beneath the horizontal slashing cut, she felt the glass blade neatly trim at her hair as she ducked beneath and rolled. Recovering from her roll she slashed at the back of Cinder’s knees. The Fall maiden yelped and fell to her knees in pain. Wasting no time Raven stabbed downward towards the fallen maiden only for her to roll away from the attack and fire two arrows at Raven.

Raven slashed away the first and dodged the second, and like so many times in the fight, there was a brief pause in the activities. They were both taking stock of their current situation Raven knew.

_We’re both eating away at our aura but her powers will function without it. _Raven sheathed Yureru chambering another dust blade inside, she was running low. _She’s running out of dust to make her glass weapons though._

“Who was your daughter?” Cinder asked in a voice that was trying to be casual, though the effect was ruined by her being out of breath. “You said I hurt your daughter. Who was it?”

Raven said nothing, keeping Cinder in her sights. Cinder tapped her chin in thought, she was trying to draw a reaction from Raven.

"Not Amber, eyes aren't right… Neo! No, she's Roman's… thing. One of the white fang? Wait you don't seem to be a Faunus." She scratched her chin for a minute and a sick glee was painted across her face. "Really I can't recall, mind giving me a hint?"

Reaching Up Raven methodically removed her mask, she wanted Cinder to know who was dooming her today, she wanted this murderer’s last thoughts to be that of deep regret for the crimes she’s done. _When I kill you it’ll be justice._

Red eyes met Amber and recognition crossed her face, and her mouth opened in slight awe. Raven’s exploits had evidentially earned her some respect within the bottom feeder community. _Even Salem’s dog’s seem to know what I’m capable of._

“Raven Branwen” she chuckled though it was almost sounded embarrassed. “Your daughter is your spitting image.”

Raven said nothing, content to just glare at the magical bitch, her mind racing for a solution.

“It’s the eyes I think” Cinder paused tapping her chin as if considering something. _I have my opening, play along to her game. _Raven thought squeezing her hand into a fist to show this woman just how pissed she was. “That and the futile tantrums”

* * *

**Cinder**

Raven Branwen flew at Cinder, roaring as she did, her sword raised over her head with one arm.

_Who would have thought Raven’s trigger was her daughter?_ Cinder mused bringing her falchion up to divert the attack. Cinder had heard of Raven’s exploits, had heard how she’d been a thorn in Salem’s side for years and now… now Cinder was going to bring Salem a present. _Make up for this past failure with a little vengeance._

The sword came down, it would have been blindingly fast for anyone without an aura and difficult to track with any normal person with it. Cinder had an aura and was hardly what you’d call normal, and she’d been expecting this. Cinder was going to unleash the iron gate technique; an old but golden technique taught mainly in Atlas. She was going to parry the downwards cutting blade to her side and cut back up with the short edge right across the opponent’s face.

She’d done it half a hundred times, taken a few foolish huntsmen’s heads clean off with it. Executing the technique always tickled Cinder’s pride and Salem had warned against ‘such arrogance’. The Grimm take Salem, Cinder was a prodigy and Raven would be joining her expanding resume of successes. Cinder grinned as Glass struck against dust blade.

_It’s over._

**Click!**

The noise echoed in Cinder's head before the Dust blade shot out of it's handle and embedded itself into the ceiling above them. Raven's hand, still gripping the handle, skirted under Cinder's glass falchion. Raven's knuckles brushed along the center of Cinder's chest, pulled back an inch before shooting forward.

**Crack!**

The force was unlike anything Cinder had been expecting, her aura was shattered and she was knocked to the ground by the force of the attack, her breath wheezing out of her. Gripping her stomach and struggling to regain her breath, Cinder's mind went into a panic as air ceased to reach her lungs. She swung out wildly at the Woman standing over her. Raven merely ducked back and let the glass sword shatter to the hilt as it struck a nearby pillar.

_No! No! NO! I can’t die here!_ Cinder’s mind screamed as she struggled to crawl away from Raven Branwen, her shattered sword still clutched in her hand. _Breath!_

A flame seemed to enter Cinder’s lungs and they were forced open allowing her to suck in a gasping breath. She shivered as aura exhaustion struck her, she wasn’t used to the feeling of this phenomenon and it frightened her.

_Salem Help me!_ Suddenly a foot came to rest on Cinder's back right between her shoulder blades. She turned her head to see the bladeless Woman glower down at her, her Grimm mask affixed to her head once more. The foot pressed hard against Cinder's back and she knew that Raven was testing to see if her aura was still there.

"Broken" she spoke in a cruel whisper a second before she kicked Cinder in the gut with an unseen fury. Cinder was flipped onto her back with the force of the blow and shrieked. That kick had broken at least one rib. The woman kicked her again, and another rib was broken. Cinder's mind flew into a panic, looking for an escape, any escape from this situation.

_I’m dead! _She thought bitterly. _I can’t die!_

Then a glint of light flashed in her eye, in a small hole in Raven's shoulder the glass arrowhead shimmered. Like some sort of sign from a dark god, Cinder had found her opening. Focusing her Maiden powers and extending her hand, she worked magic on that arrowhead.

The Arrow was already beneath Raven's Aura, so there was nothing for the Branwen to do when the Arrowhead turned red-hot and twisted in her flesh. Nothing but scream in agony that is. Raven fell back clawing at her shoulder desperately reaching for the glass head. The screams were music to Cinder's ears, she slowly rose, ignoring the pain of Aura loss and as she rose so too did Raven fall. First to her knees then to her hand and knees.

_It’s almost like bowing._ Cinder mused finally back on top where she belonged. The Arrowhead was expelled from Raven's shoulder shattering on the ground in a hundred glowing orange shards and as it broke so too did Raven's aura. The smell of cooking meat hit Cinder’s nose and her morbid sadistic side felt hungry as she looked down on the cooked bird. 

Lifting the shattered hilt of her sword up, Cinder prepared to slash it across Raven’s throat spilling out every liter of her glorious ichor on the warehouse floor. She gripped the top of Raven’s helmet moving her head to get as clear a shot at her throat as possible. Raven feebly tried to lift her arms up in a weak defense, but her shoulder was mangled, and she could only lift the one.

Cinder grinned as she raised the shattered glass up high when the wall of her warehouse exploded inwards and her servant Mercury was thrown into the room, by a Blonde Ursa it seemed. The Ursa was snarling at the downed Mercury when its glowing red eyes locked on Cinder and Raven.

“…mom?” it said in the voice of a little girl.

* * *

**Yang**

It took all of a second for Yang to take everything in, her mom's position, Cinder's weapon, Mercury's helpless form. Raven was in danger, her mother was going to die. White rose petals flew about in Yang's peripheral vision. 

_Mom?_ That feeling of weakness she felt that day when she knew that Summer was never coming back and she couldn’t do anything about it. Today she could do something about it. _NOT AGAIN!_

Yang flew at Cinder, channeling all of her semblance into herself for this final push, she didn’t know how she was able to move so fast, but she seemed to clear a large distance impossibly quick. She tackled Cinder to the floor, knocking the glass hilt from her hand. Mercury was completely forgotten from her mind as the desire to protect her family overtook her.

"DON'T TOUCH MY MOTHER!" She roared at Cinder, whose flaming eyes would have frightened her any other time. She pulled back her fist, channeled all her semblance into it, all her worries and panic, all her regrets and desires and especially her fear of losing her mother again.

Fist struck face and a wet shattering sound echoed in the warehouse.

* * *

Then Blackness overtook Yang. When she regained consciousness, she was dimly aware of her surroundings, she was walking around a warehouse in a half-drunken haze. She was out of breath and her breathing was loud in her ears, she pulled back her mask to allow herself some air.

_What’s going on?_ She thought her eyes out of focus as her vision latched onto her mother, she was still on her knees and gripping at her bleeding shoulder. _Mom!_

Yang stumbled towards Raven, as she walked a small annoying dripping sound hit her ears. _What is that noise? _She looked around annoyed until her gaze settled on her own fists, Ember Celica and her own knuckles were covered in blood… and other materials.

“Yang” Raven's voice came to her as if it was being spoken through water. It was caring, concerned and wracked with pain. “Yang look at me, don’t turn around”

There was a true worry in that voice but it only served to fuel Yang's curiosity. So she did the one thing her mom told her not to do. She turned and saw her work. She wished she hadn't.

Cinder was still twitching, spouting out a bit of blood here and there as she convulsed. It was horrifying to watch, Yang wanted to retreat into her mind to turn away, but she didn't she just stared at it. Eventually, she fell to her knees and vomited, still unable to look away from what she'd just done. _What did I do? what did I do? What did I do?_

She reached her hands up and started pulling at her hair when Raven's arm wrapped around her and pulled her hands away from her scalp. Yang was shaking and she couldn't stop looking at it.

“What did I do? What did I do?” she wept as the body twitched, Raven held her closer.

“It’s ok Yang it’s ok” she whispered rocking her back and forth. It wasn’t ok but soon enough the headless form stopped twitching. Without warning Cinder’s chest jerked up once and a blast of some sort of energy erupted out and into the air, shattering a window as it left. That shock stopped Yang’s shakes for a moment as she saw the energy fly away.

_What was that? _She thought before finally looking away letting her mother hold her, rock her and tell her everything was alright. _I almost lost you too mom. I almost lost you again._

* * *

**Ruby**

Ruby could only watch as the Goliath slammed its forelegs into the ground and charged right at the disturbed Pyrrha. The fall-maiden hefted both Scythe and Sword in both hands ready to strike at the Grimm.

_It’s going to kill her_. Ruby knew. She was too far away to do anything, Crescent Rose wasn't loaded with strong enough rounds to put this beast down. _What do I do What do I do?_

She had to protect Pyrrha, keep her safe, she had to protect them all. _I can’t lose them like I lost Yang!_

As the Goliath inched closer and closer, its tusks lowered to gore Pyrrha, Ruby felt a fire build up behind her eyes. Weiss stared at her as motes of grey fire sprouted from Ruby’s eyes.

"Ruby! What's going on?" she asked in a panicked tone. "Are you ok?"

“I don’t know!” Ruby shrieked as the fire started to burn out of her, she felt it building and building, when something happened she hadn’t expected.

A white flaming light streaked through the air faster than Ruby had ever moved with all her aura focused on her semblance. It whipped past the Goliath's large flapping ear and struck home right into Pyrrha's chest, sending her back smashing her into a nearby tree with a resounding crash. The goliath paused in its stampede staring down at the crumpled Pyrrha on the ground. Pyrrha twitched for a second before arching her back and screaming bloody murder into the sky.

The sound of her scream was so shocking to Ruby that she and the rest of her team flinched away from her, as the scream finished orange flame erupted from Pyrrha's eyes. Slowly Pyrrha began to rise from the ground into the air. The wind died as she ascended and a ball of molten flame formed around her. The Goliath took a cautious step back before Pyrrha raised her hand, smirked and let a torrent of flame consume the goliath whole.

She slowly lowered herself to the ground a grin on her face and a glow in her eyes that Ruby found… strangely familiar. As her feet touched the ground she turned towards team RWB_ and her would-be assassin. With a smile a black haze formed around the chains wrapped about the lieutenant's arm and tightened.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!" the lieutenant shrieked as Pyrrha approached him hand outraised. Blood spurted out from between the tightening chain and Ruby could hear bones breaking.

"You came to kill me," Pyrrha said in a tone filled with vile hatred. "You failed. Failed, failed"

With a flick of the wrist, the chain ripped outwards and took a large portion of the Faunus lieutenant with it. Pyrrha smiled at it for a second, looked up at team RWB_ with mismatched eyes and turned back to the horde of Grimm.

“What just happened?” Blake whispered as she watched Pyrrha walk off.

“We got a new fall maiden” was all Ruby could say. She was too frightened to say anything else.


	33. The Past echoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang digs into her memories, Weiss and Ruby discuss family

**Yang**

_I’m ready. _Yang thought to herself for the hundredth time that day. That day in the warehouse with Cinder was playing in her mind over and over again. Despite all her efforts she still couldn’t picture the moment she killed Cinder. It riled her, she could picture every other detail with almost perfect clarity. The smell of the room.

_Ozone, blood, burnt metal._

The tactile feeling on her skin.

_Wrappings on my hands were wet slightly warm, Ember Celica felt heavier on my wrists than it had ever felt before. Brain and bone matter were clinging around my knuckles palms and elbows._

Even where everyone was.

_Mom was holding me, Cinder's body was 5 meters away, Neo and Roman were entering through the west door about a meter apart and Mercury was slowly getting to his feet 7 meters away from me._

All of it was clear as day, except for the hit itself. Yang buried her head in her hands and dragged them across her face. Dwelling on that day was something she morbidly did on occasion, she thought it might help in this upcoming mission. She let out a tired sigh as her mask strangled a slight feeling of nausea worming up inside her. Raven looked over at her from her nearby seat.

She said nothing, waiting for Yang to speak her mind. Yang stonewalled her for all of a minute before her wall broke down. As she opened her mouth to speak she was surprised when Raven’s silent treatment broke first.

“What’s on your mind?” her voice again stoically calm. Yang paused unable to answer for a second, just aghast at Raven breaking the awkward silence first. “Yang?”

“Sorry Mom just shocked that you didn’t just wait for me to open up under your intense stare” she chuckled a bit, Raven shook her head though there was a small smile on her face. “Mom don’t tell me you’re nervous about this mission. What would Neo say?”

Yang let out a small laugh pleased to break the silence with some humor. Neo was swinging from the rafters and grinned at Yang. There was a killer glint in her eye as she looked down on the mother-daughter duo.

"I'm sure she'd have a lot to say on that matter" Raven chuckled leaning back in her seat, she gave Yang a soft grin. "Yang, what's really on your mind?"

The air in the cabin instantly became colder as the laughter whittled away. Yang held her hair in her hands softly running her fingers through it, working the knots out with her knuckles alone. “I was thinking about that day in the warehouse”

Raven nodded, saying nothing. Yang let out a long sighing breath, looking out the Bullheads window, away from Raven and Neo. "I can picture everything, except the hit itself… Mom, I don't regret what I did."

"I know," Raven said knowingly, Yang wasn't looking at her mother so Raven’s emotions were more masked than normal.

“Cinder deserved to die, possibly more than anyone on Remnant ever did. I did the world a favor taking her out.” Yang squeezed her hand into a fist popping her knuckles.

“Don’t posture Yang, it doesn’t suit you” Raven’s voice was more than a little annoyed. Yang whirled around to face her mother. Raven’s face was just as annoyed as her voice and Neo had her hand over her mouth in shock.

“Wha-what?” Yang mumbled out reeling from the shock of it.

“You heard me daughter mine” Raven sneered leaning closer to Yang’s face as she did. “Cinder deserved to die yes, but don’t lie to yourself and to me about why you did it. Alright?”

Yang looked down at her hands knitted together in her lap. Dust she felt like a child being scolded by her parents for telling an obvious lie.

“What are y-“ she started to mutter when Raven smacked her across the back of her head, it wasn’t too hard but stung a bit. Yang gripped the back of her head at the pain and glared at her mother. Raven glared right back. “Ow! HEY!”

"Yang!" Raven's voice was stern like it had been two years ago in her dream when she was a bird. "Why did you kill Cinder?"

Yang knew that Raven knew the true answer, dust Yang knew the true answer, but that wasn't the point. The point was once you say something out loud you make it real. Yang pulled her knees up in her seat and hugged them close.

"I didn't want to lose you, mom," she said looking straight ahead, she didn't want to see Raven's face when she said this. She was too worried she'd see shame. "You were the only family I had left. I'd already lost you once…" she hid her eyes behind her knees and let out a rasping breath. "I'd already lost Mom, I couldn't lose you too"

Tiny droplets of water fell from Yang’s chin and hit the cabin floor, the condensation in the cabin must have been off… Yang sniffled trying to wipe the definitely not tears from her eyes and face. A hand rested on top of her head, she looked up and saw Raven looking at her with a look of concern written on her face.

"It's ok Yang," she said quietly not exactly comfortingly but with the conviction that it was indeed alright. "You did the right thing…"

There wasn’t joy in those words and it wasn’t present on Raven’s face, but Raven still gave Yang’s shoulder a comforting squeeze when she sat down next to her.

“just like me” she mumbled. Yang was about to say something when she felt her scroll buzz in her pocket. Raven heard the noise as well. “What’s the news?”

Yang’s eyes flew over the screen, once twice and a 3rd time.

"Mom," she said with a grin back on her face. "We're in the clear"

* * *

**Weiss**

Weiss's glyph creation bounced back and forth between her fingers. It was a small Ursa she'd constructed, she'd manipulated its size to be no larger than a thumbtack and it was jumping along her fingertips, gripping her digits with its tiny claws. It was a fascinating use of aura and required immense amounts of skill to pull it off… and yet Weiss was doing it to distract herself.

As the Ursa stood on her ring finger and roared up at her, her mind returned to the day at Beacon when a lowly MRT champion had become something more, something so terribly more. Knowing that Pyrrha was nearby was one thing, but to run into the fall maiden in person was an entirely different matter. She needed a distraction.

“Oh Pyrrha” She whispered almost like a small prayer that her former friend was still in there somewhere, somehow. “Poor Jaune”

"I know," Ruby said checking and rechecking Crescent Rose's various components. It was the third time in 30 minutes that she'd disassembled and reassembled her precious weapon. That day had gotten dark and they were sitting on one of Vacuo's desert outskirts upon a particularly open dune. It was all a part of their cover story, they were there keeping a vigilant lookout for possible Grimm incursions.

_If only it were that simple. _Weiss lent against a palm tree feeling the bark press into her back as she did. Her eye still bothered her something fierce and occasionally its vision would blur.

“You should talk to him” Ruby spoke not looking up from her weapon work, despite the sand around them she was able to keep it out of her sniper scythe’s many mechanical moving parts. Weiss raised a quizzical eyebrow even though Ruby wasn’t looking at her.

“Him who?” she asked only slightly annoyed.

"Jaune" Ruby replied fitting the scope back onto the Sniper scythe. "He'd get what you're going through better than anyone."

Weiss's face flushed red and she turned away, instead choosing to stare off into the middle distance of the desert. It had been hard for her to confess to Ruby her feelings for Yang, it had been even harder for her to say them out loud, but since that confession, Ruby had been particularly quiet about the subject.

“How do you mean?” Weiss was beating around the bush and preferred Ruby to stick to trying to solve Jaune’s issues rather than her’s.

Ruby calmly slapped the magazine back in its chamber and turned her attention back to her partner. “The Vytal festival took something from both of you. The people you love have been… are different than what they once were. Despite the change and the danger, you two still love them.”

"By that incredibly sound logic, you're my best confidant" Weiss retorted with half a sneer in her voice. _Dust I’m too on edge about this._

Ruby locked her eyes with Weiss and let out a strained shiver as her breathing hiked up. The Small Ursa dissipated on Weiss' thumb as she moved to help her partner. The shakes ran through Ruby and she stared off at something that wasn't there, mumbling to herself. Weiss held her and rocked her slowly until her panic attack passed. She didn’t know how long it had taken. When it was done Ruby was out of breath.

“Wuh-w-Weiss… Yang was muh-my s-s-sister” Ruby took a deep breath and her aura flashed across her body. “She was something different with you.”

“Yeah…” Weiss was forced to admitted as she ran her fingertips up and down Ruby’s back in as soothing a manner as she could. “I’m not sure Jaune would get it though.”

Ruby recovered her breath and gripped Weiss’s shoulder tightly. “Yeah he’s had to see Pyrrha’s face everywhere and had to listen to people constantly talk about how lucky his team was, how honorable it must be to have worked with the hero of Vale”

“While we’ve been treated the exact opposite” Weiss continued for Ruby. They’d had this conversation a couple of times before, not the love bit but the _funny_ difference between team RWB_ and team JN_R’s situations. “People called Yang a monster, and a traitor and a murderer and we got roped in with all those claims.”

Weiss hugged herself, not against the desert cold but against the chilling loneliness those memories brought with them.

“Well team RWB_ was lucky to have you looking out for us Weiss” Ruby smiled her comforting smile that seemed at odds with the dark bags under her eyes. Weiss smiled back glad to know Ruby was still her friend. A mischievous glint ran across Ruby’s face and a small sliver of fear coursed through Weiss’ veins.

“Sooooooo, Bestie?” Ruby whispered leaning closer in a conspiratorial manner. “What makes you think you’re worthy of dating my sister?”

That shocked Weiss out of her melancholy and her face became bright red with blush. She skootched away from Ruby as her mind tried to reorganize itself in a suitable manner.

“I uh what? You?” she was spouting nonsense and Ruby grinned an almost cruel grin at Weiss’ befuddlement.

_Dust I would rather fight a deathstalker alone than have this conversation_. She thought, trying to bring her tongue back under the control of her mind.

"You're not making a very good first impression Weiss," Ruby said with a tone of mock seriousness. "I'm not sure you’re sister-in-law material. I mean dad likes you but I'm not sure he likes you THAT much"

"I'll have you know that I would make the perfect sister-in-law Ruby!" Weiss finally spat out. "The women of the Schnee family have been taught the highest level of etiquette and manners," She pointed at Ruby's snickering face for emphasis. "something which your family sorely lacks."

Ruby let out a bark of laughter that, despite Weiss’ indignation, was contagious. So those dark thoughts in both their minds settled down and the mood lightened if only a little bit. Ruby was holding her stomach as her laughter died down and she wiped a tear from her eye, Weiss couldn’t help but giggle at Ruby’s little display.

"but… hehe but you have to admit those Schnee manners have dwindled a bit lately" Ruby teased through the giggles. "You've been slumming it with us peasants after all."

That was true ever since her banishment from the Schnee household, Weiss had been either living at Beacon or living with Ruby. Mainly she was with Ruby over the breaks winter and summer. Weiss got to see more and more of Ruby and her family during those days. Their little home on Patch was small but it never felt empty, it was the opposite of Schnee manor, in fact, it felt like home.

While there she met Ruby’s father and saw the grave of Ruby’s mother. _Summer Rose. _The name stuck inside Weiss’s head and the way Ruby and Taiyang spoke of her she could tell there was something special about the woman. Tai was always kind, though he seemed a bit odd around her sometimes and Ruby… Ruby was like a second sister to her.

Weiss smiled warmly at those memories. "I guess you're right about that" she flopped down onto the sand dune next to Ruby not bothering to be dainty with her sitting, why bother she was ‘Slumming it' with Ruby after all. "I can see the headlines now ‘former Heiress dates wanted criminal' I'm sure that would piss father off enough to get him to actually visit"

Ruby chuffed at that. "We could take him," she said with some confidence. Ruby lifted her arm and patted her not inconsiderable muscle. "Joking aside I'd like to have you in my family Weiss… you already sort of are anyway"

"Thanks, Ruby" Weiss replied staring up at the starry sky above them, it was so calming she was unsure any Grimm would even bother coming near Vacuo.

“No worries Weiss” they were silent for a full minute both staring at the starry sky.

“That was really sweet”

Ruby and Weiss let out shrill shrieks as both huntresses pulled out their weapons at rapid speed pointing them at the newcomer. Sun Wukong had the good sense to jump back and put his hands up in surprise, while Penny just smiled as Crescent Rose’s barrel hovered an inch from her face.

"I see you adjusted the rifling," Penny said casually, as she admired Ruby's precious weapon. "Your work is still top-class Ruby Rose"

“Penny” Ruby chastised “we’ve talked about sneaking up on people”

“True true” Penny waved off the issue “But I didn’t want to interrupt your discussion. You both really needed it.”

Weiss couldn’t help but scoff, though her annoyed look wasn’t as solid as she’d been hoping for. She nodded to the obviously intimidated Sun Wukong and lowered her weapon. “Hey Sun”

“Heya Weiss” Sun replied lowering his arms and returning Weiss’ nod. Only after seeing his nod did Weiss lower Myrtnaster and sheath it. She pushed her hair back behind her ear and turned the left side of her head away from Sun hiding her eye from him.

Weiss knew she was doing this and was making a conscious effort to not do it but her appearance was very important to her and when she’d received her first scar she’d done something similar. She tried to hide her weakness and shame. She hid her first scar from everyone except Winter and the new scar she hid from all except Ruby.

_But I’m stronger than that_. Weiss thought, lifting her chin and turning back towards sun her vision only slightly blurry. _This wound will not define me!_

Sun leaned in a little too close for Weiss’ comfort and just stared into Weiss’ eye.

"Wow wicked scar Weiss. Where'd you get it?" At that utterance, Weiss' face flushed and her brave talk inside her head just crumbled.

Luckily the flat of Crescent Rose's blade smacked against Sun's head. He yelped, nothing too serious but it clearly smarted. He patted his own head.

“Ow Ruby what the heck?” he said still oblivious.

Ruby calmly tested the blade of her scythe with her aura’d thumb not looking up at Sun. “Sun” she spoke like a mother lecturing an unruly child “You’re being rude to Weiss”

And like a light being switched on Sun got it. His annoyed face drooped and an apologetic look replaced it. He bowed at Weiss.

"Oh Sorry Weiss, things like that just slip my mind sometimes," he said head still bowed. Weiss just awkwardly touched his shoulder, it had been so long since she'd last been bowed at she was a bit rusty with the etiquette. _Fuck it!_

"Its alright Sun no bowing please," she said lightly rapping her knuckles on the crown of his head. He rose quickly and gave her a grateful smile, she grinned back. Sun wasn't being cruel he was just being himself. "So Sun what brings you out here?"

“I got news for you and Ruby, found Penny on the way” he punched the robot girl in the shoulder she laughed it off after regaining balance. “Or well she sorta found me”

“Indeed it was quite serendipitous” she punched Sun in his shoulder back, Weiss was sure she saw Sun’s Aura flare at the punch. Sun rubbed his shoulder and took a step away from the Robot girl.

"What's the news?" Ruby said impatience clear in her voice.

"I met up with Blake and Jaune and we might have found you some transport" Ruby's eyes cracked wide, Weiss couldn't help suppress a smile. "the best part is I know a route out of Vacuo where the guys from Atlas won't know about"

Sun froze and slowly turned around to face Penny, her Atlas agent badge gleaming brilliantly in the desert moon. _She must polish that badge every second she gets. _Penny grinned at Sun almost oblivious to his distress.

"Uh, hehe Penny," he said scratching the back of his neck hoping he hadn't just messed up everything. "You wouldn't go telling your higher-ups about this would you?"

"About your plan to exit Vacuo through the northeast quadrant of the city aboard a Vacuo built mark 4.5 sand skimmer?" she tapped her chin considering all sorts of protocols and Weiss assumed ways to get around them. "Nope, I don't exactly see how it's relevant to my own mission."

Sun sighed in relief, keeping secrets amongst his friends was a difficult thing for him to accomplish. Ruby wrapped her knuckles against Sun’s shoulder and smiled at the monkey faunus.

"Don't worry Sun, we made the same mistake when Penny first showed up," Ruby said in an almost matronly tone. Patting Sun on the back she continued. "You did good Sun, thanks for this"

"No trouble Ruby. Sorry I won't be able to head back with yah" Weiss raised a quizzical eyebrow and Ruby seemed just as confused as her. Sun thumbed back towards the center of Vacuo. " Atlas kinda overstepped here and the good people of Vacuo aren't exactly happy about it. Gotta keep an eye on my city to make sure nothing too crazy goes down. Also, Sage's leg is still mending and I can't really leave him while he's healin."

"Well thanks anyway Sun," Ruby said pulling him into a brief hug which Sun reciprocated back in kind. "Stay safe."

"Will do," he said breaking the embrace practically hopping as he walked down the dune. He paused at the Dune's summit before turning towards Weiss and waving her over. "Hey Weiss I gotta tell yah something before I go"

The request seemed to take Weiss by surprise and she shared a confused glance with Ruby before skidding down the dune to join Sun. Sun rested his hand on her bare shoulder and pulled her into a conspiratorial huddle. This was strange and Weiss knew it, they were discussing things away from both Ruby and Penny.

_Secrets from a team are poison._

“What is it Sun?” she whispered letting him feel the full force of her suspicion. “Why are we talking like this?”

“Can’t let Penny know” he replied his voice painfully controlled. Weiss was aghast and started to speak when Sun interrupted her. “Hey I Like Penny she’s one of the best people to be around, but she’s got a duty and responsibility to Atlas. I don’t want to make her choose between her kingdom and her friends. There’ve been enough divides as is.”

The moment was somber, and Weiss realized that Sun wasn’t mock-serious and he wasn’t playing any games, he was dangerously serious and he was looking out for her and her team. She nodded and hardened her heart for whatever he was going to say, she accepted that she was going to have to lie to Penny.

“What is it Sun?” there was no demand in her voice just a mission focused determination.

"You are Yang's Weakness Weiss," he said simply but gravely. Weiss was unsure how to take that and simply nodded, _Part of me already knows this_. Her finger lingered against her new scar. “She loves you Weiss, and she loses control when you’re mentioned.”

Weiss ran her fingers through her hair, it was a bit of a disheveled mess, she remembered how Yang had ‘lost control’ in a different way atop the Rooftop. Weiss could still feel Yang's hands on her and could almost taste her tongue, part of her wanted to run her fingers through Yang's hair again and take her breath away. Her cheeks blushed at the memory and her heart thundered in her chest.

“I know” she whispered almost silent, Sun heard it none the less. If he saw her blush he paid it no heed.

_I wouldn’t be surprised if he could hear my heart racing. _Weiss thought, trying to control the drumming of her heart with breathing techniques. _Yang’s not the only one who lost control._

The warm feelings vanished as the memory of cold metal digging into the flesh of her face resurfaced. She traced the scar not caring that Sun saw.

"Yang did that didn't she?" he said softly. His hand wiped across his face and he had a look of extreme disappointment and anger on it. "Fuck there goes that plan"

"She didn't mean it," Weiss said softly. "It was an accident, I didn't have an aura"

Sun gave her an incredulous look and seemed like he was about to confront her on that ridiculous claim. Before he could realization dawned on his face, he rubbed his temples as if a headache was wracking through his skull.

"You love her back don't you?" it was the truth and no matter how often Weiss heard it always seemed to blindside her. She just nodded, there was nothing else she could do. Sun's hand fell on her shoulder and he pulled her into a bear hug. "You're the only one who can stop her Weiss, she needs to be stopped, you know that right?"

Weiss nodded against his muscled chest but said nothing, after a quick pat on the back they parted. As Sun left Weiss felt very alone on the sand-dunes summit. Well, she felt alone for about 10 seconds before Ruby popped up right next to her.

“What were you guys talking about?” she said in an obvious effort to spook her friend. Weiss didn’t give her the satisfaction.

“He just gave me dating advice” Ruby gave her an odd look and finally a nod. The nod alone said ‘fine we’ll talk later’ and Weiss was ready for that later when she was sure her love-life would stay out of all Atlas reports.

Weiss shook her head banishing the melancholy before it could take root. She turned toward Penny, who had followed Ruby down the dune.

“So Penny what do you have for us?” The Atlas girl gave a small hop and salute at being addressed.

“Well I’m pleased to announce that my collating data is complete, and I have a good idea where Yang was heading and all relevant Weather reports.”

Ruby and Weiss both beamed, this was more than either of them could’ve hoped for.

“Unfortunately with the Data comes some good news and some bad news” Penny said rather somberly instantly checking Ruby and Weiss’ optimism.

Wanting to rip that bandaid off quickly Ruby asked. "What's the bad news?"

* * *

**Yang**

Yang felt the tension drain from her body like liquid from a sponge, she freaking lounged in the cabin chair as the message sunk into her.

**R: We Got Trouble. Sandstorm is coming in will shut us off from chasing Yang for a while.**

**B: dust! We just got transport as well. _Pic attached._**

They continued after that with other lamentations, but Yang couldn’t be happier, she had some distance between herself and her pursuers. Her team… Yang brushed aside that sour way of thinking.

_If JN_R and RWB_ are stuck in Vacuo then so is Pyrrha_. She thought with a grin, glad to have that nevermore off her neck.

Raven retrieved the scroll and flicked through it taking in all the messages. Yang sat up energy bursting inside her now that she no longer felt pursued. Raven eyed her as she rose and approving glint in her eye.

"You bugged their systems" Yang beamed at the praise. "You did very well Yang"

“It gets that monkey off our backs at least” Yang stretched feeling her bones pop and strain beneath her skin. “it’ll be good to put some distance between us and those eyes”

Her mind drifted to those eyes the emerald and bronze eyes, glowing ever glowing. She could picture that stare in her head and some part of her felt like those eyes could see her right now. Suddenly the eyes in her mind blinked and silver stared at her, she felt a primal fear and was knocked out of her day-dream by it.

_Well, that's worrying. _She thought, looking down to see that the nails on her hands had turned slightly claw-like while she was distracted. _Wow! Control yourself, Yang._

The nails vanished and her good mood returned, she was on the easy street now. Well as easy as the assassination of a high-ranking military official can get. She stood up triumphant slapping her mom’s shoulder.

“and hey Ironwood’s gonna be without his pet-Monster for a while so it should be a piece of cake” she grinned her toothy grin at her mother. Raven was looking intently at the scroll flipping through it her eyes rapidly moving as she took in the texts. “Mom?”

Raven slowly and deliberately looked up from the scroll and back at Yang her face betraying nothing. She handed Yang the scroll back and the look of the teacher came back across her face.

“This was an impressive thing you’ve pulled in the past week Yang” she turned and headed towards the pilot cabin. “But remember my lessons Daughter mine”

“**Luck hates you”** Yang intoned knowingly, Raven paused in the doorway and smiled at her Daughter, the proud mother’s smile. “I remember mom”

Yang did remember, she couldn't forget and in the next few days, she was going to prove to her mom what she was capable of.

* * *

**Raven**

The pilot cabin doors shut behind her and the current pilot; Roman Torchwick looked back.

"Oh it's just you," he said with the jovial sneer that was always in his voice. Raven had swiftly become used to that tone and rolled with it, Roman was always going to talk like that, even to her. she sat down in the co-pilot's chair treating the thief to her usual stoic silence.

They flew for a bit before Raven broke the silence.

"How old were you when you killed your first man?" she asked, causing Torchwick to jump in surprise. It was a rarity for her to be the one to initiate conversations. He looked at her oddly and opened his mouth to make a joke but the gleam in Raven's eye must have told him that a serious answer would be the healthier approach today. Raven tolerated the snipes but only so far.

“I was about 17 why?” he asked keeping his eye on the skies. Raven rested her chin on her palm and just stared out the window.

“Who was it?” she muttered not looking away from the infinite night’s sky. “Why’d you do it?”

Roman let out a snort and half smirked as if the memory was something he could easily draw back from memory. “Mob enforcer, Grendal something-or-another, had a thing for little girls” Roman leaned back in his chair and twirled his lighter in one hand.

"Hardest fight of my life, couple of ribs broke, chin was a wreck and my right ear still rings on occasion…. But" Roman's gaze drifted back to the cabin door. "It was worth it, I'd say"

“I was 12” Raven replied feeling in a sharing mood. “He was 4 years older than me, he didn’t know about Aura, I didn’t know about aura, stuck a sharpened stick through his throat.” She looked down at her hands, even through the gloves she could see the calluses and she knew what she’d done with the hands, there was no shame in her mind for the deeds she’d done. “just stuck to killing after that, turns out I was good at it”

"This isn't one of those pep-talks that ends with you killing me right?" Roman said half chuckling. Raven laughed back, glad for his jokes for once.

“No roman it’s not” she stuck her thumb back towards the inner cabin. “Take a break Ill fly for a bit”

Roman seemed surprised but didn’t question his treat. _He’s probably just glad I didn’t stab him._ Raven thought, chuckling to herself. _If I was going to kill him I wouldn’t taunt beforehand anyway._

When the cabin door sealed shut behind Roman, Raven let out a tired sigh as she looked out into the night sky above her.

_I’m a killer. _She thought. _But is that what I want for Yang?_

The sky didn’t answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review


	34. Time to say goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RWBY in the past deals with the fallout of their actions and the new world around them

**Yang**

The Bullhead touched down in the valley in the box canyon; Yang's home away from home in Vale. Her boots struck the dirt hard as she jumped down from the airship, not bothering to wait for the ramp to descend. Dry dust filled her lungs along with the scent of pine and the unique smell of the red trees of forever fall. The base was still there in as good a condition as she had left it since her last time using the base, it was a small metal house-like structure in the middle of the box canyon that was rather unnoteworthy.

“My home away from home!” Yang shouted over the roar of the Bullheads engines, unafraid of someone hearing her. She broke into a sprint as she ran to the base glad to be free of both the cramped bullhead and the dread of being pursued.

She kicked the door open with a whoop as she entered, pleased to see the many trinkets she and her mother had acquired over the years. Mistralian rugs decorated the floor, Atlas crystal sat on a few tables with dead plants inside, and Vacuo silks were draped on the couches haphazardly. It was all a hodge-podge of worldly items and looked chaotic, but for Yang and Raven, it was home.

Yang lifted her Ursa-mask and stripped off her Grimm-cloak. Her ruined-cloak caught on the sheath of her curved sword, she’d almost forgot the weapon at her hip these past few days.

_Where has my head been? _She chastised herself pulling the sword out of its sheath and saw the blade had broken off at the hilt. _When did that happen?_

The memory of her slashing the blade down against Ruby’s Crescent Rose and shattering like glass flitted through Yang’s head.

"…oh yeah" She muttered as the memory came back to her. Yang ran her finger along with the wrapped handle until she felt the slightly raised button, she pressed it firmly but not too hard and after about 5 seconds the remnants of the blade were ejected from the handle. Arms moving at great speed Yang snatched the spent blade out of the air.

“Good luck charm” she muttered to herself before tossing the metal into a bin for reforging at a later date. She was just pulling out a box of replacement blades when Her mom, Roman, and Neo entered the abode.

Yang gave them a nod before inspecting another blade that much to her chagrin was notched more than she'd like, she tossed it down and continued her search while her team moved about the house. Neo sat on the armrest of the couch nearest to Yang and peered down at Yang's shuffling. 

“Rusted, weak, structurally broken, unstable iron” Yang listed off as Neo inched her face closer and closer to Yang’s ear. Yang was inspecting a sword with only a tiny bit of rust on it when Neo puckered her lips and moved in for the kill.

And her lips met with Yang’s palm as the blonde’s hand wrapped around the smaller psycho’s mouth, she turned to face her would-be-kisser and gave Neo an admonishing annoyed look.

"Nice try Neo" Yang sneered before tucking a pink strand of hair behind the girl's ear and kissing her forehead. She threw the blade she'd been examining back into the pile dissatisfied with her options.

_Guess I'll have to forge one. Do I have the time?_ She scratched her head as she considered when Raven poked her shoulder with Yureru’s sheath. Yang turned around, Raven had been in and out of **it** the entire plane ride, hardly speaking to her daughter once they were in the clear.

"Yeah, mom?"

"I have a blade for you," Raven said motioning towards Yang's room. Yang followed her mother into the room. Yang's room was a bit of a mess her sheets were dusty and scattered about her bed and her many acquired trinkets were taking up space on the floor.

The trinkets were weapons, armor, and other equipment from battles with bounty hunters, Atlas specialists and a few foolish huntsmen. There were flame sword hilts, broken dust dispensers, and her two most prized trinkets; a gun-greave and a green sickle attached to a broken chain.

Her eye lingered on those prizes before turning to the item on her bed, wrapped in a new Grimm kimono it was a long rectangular box. Yang looked at the tatters she'd thrown onto the couches, she did need a new set to wear. She let out a sigh for all the durability of Mistralian silk, she was brutal on these kimonos. Her hands tentatively stripped the cloak off the package, feeling the silk travel along her fingers, it sighed as it dragged across her skin. The package was a simple case and with little effort, Yang opened the box.

She couldn’t help but gasp as she saw what was inside, it was a dust-blade of a red and black hue. Gently she lifted it, it felt light yet Yang could feel the strength of the weapon in her fingertips. She turned to her mother who had a small half smile on her face. Raven didn't bother hiding the smile.

"Mom? Is this?" Yang began unsure of what to say.

"it's for you Yang" Raven answered. "specially made, stronger than most of Yureru's blades. I needed a little help in making it"

Yang raised an eyebrow at that. “Really the great Raven Branwen needed help? Say it isn’t so”

Raven chuffed at her daughter before a strange almost fond smile stretched across her face. “Your father says he loves you Yang”

Raven could have thrown an icicle right through Yang’s chest and she wouldn’t have noticed. Yang missed her dad dearly, and Raven occasionally was able to relay a message from him, but Yang… Yang wasn’t sure she could see him, she knew he still loved her but she was worried that if she went back she’d get him in trouble or worse.

Water dripped from Yang’s chin and hit her room’s floor, she looked up at the ceiling and gripped her sword tightly to her chest feeling her father’s love through it.

"Must have a leak?" she said beating her blubbering tone down. She wiped an arm across her eyes, the leak must have dribbled all over her face. "gotta fix that later"

“Sure” Raven spoke laying a comfortably firm hand on Yang’s shoulder. Her face shifted and she leaned in to whisper to Yang. “Yang are you certain about this path?”

Yang took a step back from her mother, still confused by the question but what she saw on her mother’s face wasn’t what she’d expected. She thought she’d see Raven’s usual restrained self, with Yang only able to read what Raven was feeling by analyzing the minutia. What Yang got was Raven without her walls up, the concern, worry and a tiny bit of shame written all across her face.

The sight of an exposed Raven unnerved Yang but after a minute the blonde steeled herself, rooted her feet and prepared to say what she’d been saying these past few days.

“I’m certain mom” she spoke with complete confidence and assurance. She was ready for Ironwood and Raven evidently must have believed her since the doubt and the shame vanished from her face. The wall had returned.

“Alright” Raven spoke evenly. “You need to do some recon then…” 

Yang nodded locking her new blade into her sword hilt.

"…at Beacon" Raven finished and Yang felt a cold finger trace its way up her spine. It was fear but not fear she'd let control her. Yang bowed to her Mother and threw her new kimono over her arms.

* * *

**Ruby Past**

Ruby stared, she just stared. There was nothing better for her to do. Ruby Rose just stared at the mangled corpse of what used to be a Faunus male. His shredded arm had been ripped clean out of its socket and was quite a distance from his lifeless body. She stooped down next to it and examined the arm itself, the metal chain had bit deep into his flesh and had renderized the prominent scorpion tattoo that had once decorated it. She looked over at the body and his unseeing eye just stared back at Ruby.

The eye couldn’t see, she knew that. It would never see again and yet it was staring at Ruby as if she could have saved him. As if she would have saved him.

_Would I have tried_? She thought to herself, letting the morbid idea linger in her brain. _He was trying to kill Pyrrha, he was willing to let everyone in Vale die, human and Faunus._

She walked over to the body and shut the eye, giving the one-armed body a kind of peaceful look to it. She sat on her haunches just staring at the body in the now empty field when she heard footsteps approaching her. Ruby knew it wasn't the Grimm, Pyrrha had eradicated almost all of the ones attacking the school and the Fang weren't exactly foolish enough to strike out at an armed huntress like Ruby Rose. Besides, there was hardly any White fang left alive in the forest of forever fall.

“Ruby” Qrow’s gravelly voice cut through the wind and the silence. Ruby didn’t bother looking up at her uncle she just stared at the life she’d just allowed to be snuffed out.

"Hey Qrow," she said, her voice free of anger or accusations or even sadness. Her voice was just level, there was nothing in it. She was thankful she couldn’t smell alcohol on her uncle and was even more grateful he wasn’t drinking right this second. “Have you ever killed anyone Qrow?”

The question came unbidden from Ruby's mind, she wasn't entirely sure why she asked it but she didn't feel like retracting it. She did wonder if her uncle had ever snuffed out a life. She heard his foot take a step back, he might have been appalled at the question or insulted at the implication, Ruby didn't know she wasn't that great with reading people just by their footsteps.

“Ruby… you didn’t kill this person” he said shocked and concerned. Ruby could have let it go there, just accept that she asked cause she blamed herself, but now she knew she wanted to know.

"Have you ever killed a person Uncle Qrow?" she asked again.

Silence hung between them for what felt like ages as she just stared at the body; committing every detail of it to memory. Brown eyes, dark hair cut close, tanned skin, laugh lines around the eyes. Qrow's voice was almost silent when he finally answered.

“Yeah I have” he muttered.

"Does it get easier?" she asked

“…no” at least he didn’t patronize her by saying this wasn’t her fault. Finally Ruby felt tears streaming down her face. “and it shouldn’t”

They were just flooding down her cheeks now, dripping onto the cold ruined dirt of the forest of forever fall. _Why am I crying, I didn’t know this guy, I didn’t like this guy, he was going to hurt my friends! _And still, the tears came.

_He’s dead and I could have saved him. What would mom have said?_ That was a stupid question that Ruby thought, Summer Rose had done bounty missions that hadn’t ended in a clean capture, she’d been forced to put down terrorists all to keep her family and kingdom safe. _This is different._

The white fang member had been restrained, he’d been without an aura, he’d been beaten and immobilized. His arm had been dislocated and it could have stopped there, Ruby could have stopped it there. But it didn’t stop there and Ruby failed to stop it. She wiped the tears away from her face with the back of her sleeve.

_This isn’t like mom_. Ruby knew and regretted knowing. _He didn’t need to die. It wasn’t a heat of the moment kind of thing._

"He didn't need to die," she said her voice still level despite the turmoil inside her, she turned to finally face Qrow, he couldn't look away from the body either. Qrow nodded in agreement with her rather than speak, his hand twitched near his holstered flask. She gently reached out and squeezed his arm, she couldn't have him breaking down here, not now. When ruby next spoke her voice was filled with a cold she wasn’t sure she’d been capable of. “When does the celebration begin?”

Qrow shook his head and looked up from the body, he scratched the back of his next and tried to look anywhere else than at the corpse. His hand stayed away from the liquor.

“I’m sure they’re celebrating already, though Ozpin and Ironwood will want to save the big stuff for maybe tomorrow” a few Atlas fliers flew overhead and Ruby could swear she heard far off cheers. "People need this relief if they don't get it…"

“It will just bring the Grimm back” Ruby finished knowingly. She looked back at the armless corpse and as her gaze stretched across the red forest of forever fall she found a few more bodies. Pyrrha had found the other White Fang. “I can’t tell anyone about this can I?”

Qrow hesitated before shaking his head. Ruby breathed in a shuddering breath. She understood the why of it and that made it all the worse. Qrow reached down and grabbed his flask. She grimaced expecting him to drink it, but instead, he tossed the flask with his symbol on it right to her. Ruby managed to catch the metal flask despite its surprise.

Qrow gave her a pitiable look. “It helps”

* * *

**Weiss past**

Beacon was in adulation, people were cheering, relief filling every inch of their tired face as they cheered. Everyone except Weiss Schnee that is. She was happy don’t get her wrong, it’s just she wasn’t in the proper state of mind to celebrate.

She’d seen too much to be cheering right now.

Time seemed to compress and stretch after she saw Pyrrha rip the White fang apart. The slaughter was just flashes in her head. Her race back to Vale to inform Ozpin seemed to last an age that Weiss couldn't really picture in her own mind and since then she's been unsure of how much time had passed.

“It had to be a few hours” she mumbled to herself, barely able to hear herself over the victorious cries. “No way the news would travel this quickly”

Weiss was being analytical, letting her rational mind take over and control things. _Magic exists_ Her mind bucked against her feeble attempt at maintaining clear reality. _There’s a secret group running the world behind our backs._

Dust it sounded like something out of a bad pulp novel. Weiss had to take a seat on one of the benches in Beacon’s courtyard, her fingers raking through her hair.

“Yes they exist but they’re trying to help us, not rule us” She spat at herself. Her meeting with Ozpin had been a strange affair, even upon hearing that Vale had been saved, he had that sad knowing look plastered across his wizened face. _A look of guilt._

“Oh Pyrrha” Weiss muttered into her hand.

“PYRRHA NIKOS THE SAVIOR OF VALE!” Someone in the crowd shouted, making Weiss want to vomit from the irony. Pyrrha had saved Vale but it had cost her something, Weiss didn’t know what it had cost the former MRT champion but she feared recovering her friend might be impossible.

“See Shrimp that’s what a true huntress should look like” a familiar voice cut in, she didn’t have to look up from her hands to guess who it was, she knew Cardin Winchester’s sneer well enough.

"Cardin did you not learn your lesson last time?" Weiss replied not bothering to look at the taller huntsmen. "I'm a bit tired right now so if you're that hungry for an ass kicking I'm sure Coco's around somewhere"

“Feh” Cardin spat and seemed like he was about to make a retort when his little gremlins urged him not to start this fight. “This isn’t over Schnee”

Weiss waved in his general direction still considering looking at him to be beneath her. “As you say mister Winchester Lets schedule a beating for Tuesday hows about?”

She was prepared to listen to his no doubt intelligent rejoindered when something actually important caught her gaze; someone as confused and disturbed as she was.

_Jaune_. He moved like a Zombie flinching at every shout and cry of joy as he worked his way through the crowded courtyard. Weiss marched over to him, pushing through the throng of people.

“Jaune!” she shouted trying to grab his attention, the revelry was loud around her and it was difficult for her to hear herself. Jaune didn’t even turn his head towards her. “JAUNE!”

That louder shout cut through the noise, and it seemed to snap the leader of team JNPR out of his stupor. He turned towards Weiss and it took him a second before he looked down and caught sight of her. Weiss had to repress a twitch of her eye at her rather dwarfish height getting in her way once again.

“Weiss” he shouted meeting her halfway through the cheering and crying crowd. “Weiss it’s good to see you.”

He smiled at her but it was off and Weiss could tell. The ex-heiress led him out of the crowd to under one of the many arches littering the beacon courtyard. The noise was still loud but now less deafening. Weiss leaned against the marble brickwork while Jaune fidgeted looking around worried.

_What’s gotten into him._

“What’s the matter Jaune?” Weiss asked preferring to cut straight to the point rather than dance around the issue. He started to wave her off but her Ice-cold glare cut through his obvious obfuscation. Jaune slapped his elbow and rubbed the back of his neck, realizing that Weiss wasn’t gonna let him off with a weak excuse.

“Have you seen Pyrrha?” He asked. The Adrenaline in Weiss’ veins spiked but she maintained her cool. “It’s just she vanished a while back and appeared out of nowhere with new powers. Did you and Ruby catch her before the Grimm assault died down?”

Weiss' mind traveled back to the fight if you could call it that, in the forest and Pyrrha's ungodly power. 

"Yeah, I saw Pyrrha" _no point in lying Jaune deserves better than lies… we all do. _“She’s not well Jaune”

He gave her a scrutinizing look before dragging his palm across his face, he seemed to already know. His eye twitched as the crowd roared, They were watching a video replay of Pyrrha soaring through the air like an angel ripping Beowulfs to shreds with a flick of her wrist.

_It’s not the only thing she can rip apart_. Weiss noted with a sour frown. _and for all her grace she’s unstable._

Weiss could see the instability even if the crowd could not, it was a skill she'd picked up when practicing her swordcraft, she could read her opponents well and Pyrrha… Pyrrha was off. _What is going on here?_

“What happened Weiss?” Jaune asked his voice warbling from worry. “What happened to Pyrrha?”

Weiss understood the concept of the maiden but there was more to it that she was sure Ruby’s Uncle and the headmaster hadn’t told her. When she’d raced back to report what had occurred with Pyrrha Ozpin and general Ironwood had ‘Requested’ her silence regarding the matter.

**_We don’t want to start a panic_**. The general had said. And part of Weiss had agreed with him as much as she now loathed the man who’d been responsible for her kingdom’s safety.

"I don't know" she finally answered Jaune. It was the truth but to her, it felt like a lie.

_Dust these lying games are like just Atlesian soap-operas._ She thought with poisonous scorn that she’d inadvertently vocalized with a snarl. Jaune flinched away from the vocalization before realizing that Weiss was just as frustrated as him. _Cloak and dagger crap, dust we’re supposed to be better than this._

"I know how you feel," Jaune said his eyes lingering on a holo-projection of a heterochromatic Pyrrha waving with Weiss' sister winter at her back "This is all crazy"

“Madness” Weiss muttered her eyes lingering on Winter. _Maybe I could talk to winter and-_

** _Classified!_ **

It was like a door was shut in her mind, she knew how Winter would take her prying and she knew it would be a waste of time. Speaking of a waste of time a couple of huntresses started to approach her. Weiss' defensive responses took over and she started to reach for Myrtnaster, it wouldn't be the first time she'd been forced to fight her fellow students. But the huntresses walked right past Weiss as if she wasn't even there.

_That’s a new feeling._ Weiss thought as the women surrounded a very confused Jaune instead.

“Hey you’re the leader of team JNPR right?” one said her shock of purple hair at odds with her baritone voice.

"Yeah I saw you on the news report," said the smallest girl. "You know Pyrrha Nikos!"

The third one closed right into Jaune’s personal space. “What’s she like? Do you know her?”

Jaune, usually accepting of female attention, retreated backward raising his hands in a defensive manner, almost like he was frightened by what they were saying. 

"She's a wonderful person. Yeah, I know her" he answered clearly flustered.

"You must feel so honored," they said in unison

“…Honored… yeah” Jaune replied almost sheepishly.

It was an… odd thing to watch for Weiss, dust the whole situation was amazingly peculiar for the ex-heiress. Normally she was the one getting drowned out by toadies hunting after her money or her fame and being forced into awkward situations with others. And as the women pried at Jaune and invaded his personal space Weiss knew how that felt.

As much as Jaune might have liked female attention now was certainly not the time for it. Pyrrha who’d been missing for days finally showed back up and has insane new powers, he needed time to think to himself not to be pestered by would be kiss-asses.

“Can you introduce us to her?” the Tall one asked laying a hand on Jaune’s shoulder. Weiss stepped in then flicking the larger woman’s wrist and taking a closer seat next to her friend. “Ow Hey ice queen what was that for?”

"For annoying me," Weiss said bringing back her haughty Airs even though she knew that she looked like a wreck. "My friend Jaune and I had just gotten a moment to ourselves, a moment of quiet when you came chirping in our face.”

The women scowled and seemed to notice her for the first time. Honestly, that was a new experience for Weiss as well, the experience of being ignored. People, whole crowds would just pretend she didn't exist on occasion, it started a bit when she preached Yang's innocence and only worsened after the incident. Weiss was persona non grata but being ignored had its benefits.

“Back off Schnee," the smallest one said putting her finger in Weiss' face. "We were talking to a leader of a real team, not that group of psychos you're apart of"

“Hey!” Jaune said rising to his feet, Weiss stilled him with a raised hand. She rose to meet the small woman eye to scarred eye. The smallest of the trio was just above Weiss’ height somewhat impeding Weiss’ intimidation.

The other 2 girls backed up their small friend who was staring Weiss down. “What Schnee? gonna give us that innocent crap again? Maybe you could buy us off oh wait daddy took all the money”

The insults kept coming and Weiss just tuned them out her mind returning to the day in the clearing of single fall. As spit flew from the girl's lips she thought about how Yang had looked during their brawl her hair trailing behind her, her smile infectious. As one of the girls poked her hard in the chest she recalled the joy and excitement she felt at her and Yang’s closeness by the fight’s end how she’d lost the opportunity to kiss those lips.

Her cheeks turned red at the thought and the girls made some snide comment about her being embarrassed. Weiss wanted to be held by Yang and to hold her back, to fight monsters and be away from all this backstabbing for the greater-good bullshit. She wanted Pyrrha to be normal, for Ruby to be safe and for Jaune and the former MRT champion to just get together already. But mostly she wanted to see Yang again.

But she couldn’t and that made her furious and the only remedy it seemed was to teach the rude asses of the world a lesson. Her hand gently came to rest on Mrytnaster and only Jaune caught the golden clock appearing below Weiss’ feet.

“a team of psychos you say?” she said as the girls sensed the violence in the air. “Care to repeat the rest? I wasn’t paying attention.”

* * *

**Blake Past**

There were bodies, more than a few. The Faunus with the chainsaw hadn't been the last of Pyrrha's victims. If only the rest had learned from his example. She kicked over a grunt, he had a mandible mouth, some sort of insect Faunus 40 years old at least, with a hole in his chest. He’d tried to fire a sniper rifle at Pyrrha and she’d quickly thrown Milo through his torso, the former MRT champion had done that action so carelessly it had shocked Blake.

The White Fang had just started springing out of the woodwork and Pyrrha… Pyrrha had lost it. Blake pulled at her hair, she'd known Pyrrha for the past year, she thought she knew the girl, but never in her life had she thought Pyrrha would be capable of the violence she unleashed today.

Faunus were dead and Pyrrha had killed them like they were Grimm.

“And I can’t say anything” Blake muttered to herself as she closed the insect Faunus' eyes. Her paranoia had been going into overdrive these past few days. The fang was more active, Yang had her freak out and now there was a grand conspiracy pulling all the strings.

_I need to get out of here_ Blake thought not for the first time that week, dust it wasn’t even the first time she’d thought that this day. She felt alone, she felt the walls closing in on her and she felt surrounded by enemies. _I’ll go to mistral get away from all this. were the fang more active cause of what I did to Adam?_

That was a poisonous thought that often dug its way into her brain, but in recent days it had mutated into. _Did Yang do what she did because of what I said? _that idea had only worsened upon learning that not only had Yang survived but that she had changed. _She even looks like Adam now._

Dust that was a horrific just trying to picture Yang in the white-fang white with a burning red hateful glare in her eyes. Yang had pressed the boundaries, Yang had done what she wanted not what was just. Yang had torn her friends and family apart by leaving.

_No, wait that last one was me._ She thought gloomily. She stooped and shut the eyes of yet another dead Faunus before letting out another rasping breath. The world was getting crazy she wanted to leave, to go home, to run away from her issues. _Maybe I’m what’s making everything go bad? Who cares? there’s no one here who cares anymore. It’s all insane it's beyond anything even the white fang thought possible._

Blake suddenly felt very small as she knelt there on her haunches surrounded by the dead, there was no one to trust anymore, not her parents, not her leaders, not her lover, not her teachers, and not her Partner. _I should go._

She stood up and in her mind, she was ready to leave, just plant her feet in the dirt and run as far away as she could, didn't matter which direction she headed she just needed to go. Then a sound hit her ear; the sound of metal scrapping up dirt. Blake turned towards that sound and saw a strange sight; Ruby was digging through the dirt with her Scythe.

Blake knew that Ruby loved that Scythe and to use it in such a base manner seemed very strange to Blake. She was using Crescent Rose as a shovel.

_She’s digging a grave._ Blake realized as her eyes caught sight of the young white fang member laid dead on the ground next to Ruby’s digging. A drinking flask hung at Ruby’s belt and Blake was hit with another shock. Blake had every intention of leaving but she had to see what Ruby was doing first.

The Cat’s curiosity would always win out it seems.

“Ruby?”

"Hey, Blake" Ruby said quietly not looking up from her work.

“What are you doing?”

“Digging a grave” Ruby replied matter-of-factly. Blake had to admit it was kind of obvious she kneeled onto the dirt and started shoveling dirt out with her hands. "Thanks, Blake"

Blake nodded in response as the dirt started to cake around her hands. They made surprisingly good progress and it wasn’t long before they were lowing the body into the ground and piling the dirt on top of it.

“Do Faunus from Menagerie have any burial traditions?” Ruby asked her fingers tapping on the metal flask on her hip. Blake swallowed considering she cleared her throat and let a small rumbling song escape from it. It was in the rhythmic language of Menagerie and it was a song sending he departed to the hereafter. Blake wasn’t the best at singing Weiss was far better than her but she did her best, it wasn’t long before tears were rolling down her cheeks. She wanted to be anywhere else but when Ruby’s hand rested on her shoulder she knew she had to be here. Her song of farewell ended, and she felt some catharsis.

"That was lovely Blake," Ruby said a sad small smile on her face before she turned to bury the next one.

_It’s Ruby _Blake realized, Ruby had always been the one she could trust and rely on. it was always their fearless team-leader. When all this madness and revelations came to light what did Ruby do? She did what was right and decent. _I can trust Ruby._

Blake followed her broken pack leader and sent her mind to not run away if she were going to follow anyone, she'd follow Ruby.

* * *

**Yang Past**

The next few minutes were hell for Yang, she was constantly tempted to look back at the body that used to be Cinder Fall, it was that morbid scab-picking curiosity that everyone had in them. That desire to do things that weren’t healthy. She wanted to look but Raven kept Yang’s eyes focused only on her.

"Look at me Yang" Raven spoke her voice rough and tired her left arm hanging limply on Yang's shoulder. Raven was still bleeding from the shoulder and her battle with Cinder had been quite damaging.

"I s-S-saw it, mom," Yang said as her eyes scanned Raven force scars. "I killed her, you're hurt"

"I know you saw it, Yang, it's fine. You saved me." Raven's right hand brushed against the side of Yang's face it was a comfortable reality Yang could focus on. "Baby don't look at it."

"Dust!" Roman swore off to the side, he'd evidently seen the mess Yang made. "Wow, blondie you sure-"

Raven cut Roman off with a glare that brokered no argument. Yang’s breathing was ragged, and she felt horribly exposed. She’d killed, she did something wrong right? The fear of being judged came back to her a fear of reprisal. Raven seemed to recognize it in her daughter's face, she stroked Yang's cheek with her thumb.

“Breathe Yang breathe” she cooed. “Focus into the mask”

Yang hesitated for a moment before delving into the mask. When she was first learning to use the mask she’d thought of it like an aura, something to just bring up with will. She found out that she was half right in that regard. The mask didn’t exactly operate like an aura; it wasn’t like willing something to you it was more akin to letting yourself be taken down a current and still being able to float above the tide.

So Yang took a deep breath and let it out into the mask, and she felt the current hit her. The stressful emotions seemed to dull all that remained was the Grimm-song. It soothed her and soon enough the warehouse, the body, and Raven seemed to vanish. Yang was in a dark pool and the dread and fear were gone all that remained was a cold animal clarity.

**_Cinder was going to kill my mother_****. **It was her voice and yet not, that spoke those words. **_I stopped her._**

It was the truth, unbound by the morality of people like Ozpin and Ironwood would’ve liked to project an air of merciful nobility, though she figured that either of them wouldn’t have hesitated to kill Cinder. _And they wouldn’t need a loved one in danger to do it._

**_The killing comes with being a huntress_**.

That was a dark truth that classes at Beacon would only mumble on occasion being a huntress was a violent job, violence was needed to keep the people safe. Violence was needed to keep yourself safe, not just against the Grimm but against people as well.

Yang focused on the Grimm-song again as it kept her entranced, there was an element to it that she hadn’t picked up before. _There is a human voice in this._

She couldn't believe that she hadn't heard it before, at the core of this chaotic song there was a human influence, it was a human singer, or at least close to a human singer. _Man and Grimm are both chaotic things in the world._

Yang broke from the trance to find her mother no longer in front of her, she looked around in a half panic and as she turned, she saw Raven finish laying a shawl over Cinder’s corpse. Neo was ogling her and Roman had a half impressed look on his smirking face. Raven’s left arm was still moving awkwardly as she looked back to her daughter with a soft smile on her face.

_I saved mom_. Yang smiled back it wasn’t really a victorious smile it was a relieved one, she’d done it, she did what a tiny little girl with pigtails wished she’d been capable of… saving her mother. She smiled back at Raven glad to have done something right but as she looked around the warehouse a new fact injured that small spike in Yang’s pride.

“Where’s Mercury?” her question echoing throughout the room. Neo and Roman scanned the room along with Yang but there was no sign of him.

“Sneaky little fucker” Roman swore and he flipped over a metal crate spilling out one piece of contraband or another. “it’s gonna take weeks to find him again, if the twerp is smart that is”

That might could be a significant time investment, and with the state Vale was in she wasn’t sure she could grab him without risking getting caught by Atlas again. _But he knows the truth he can clear my name… but what do I do after that?_

Yang looked at her bloody palms as she thought to herself, she wasn’t the same woman who’d strutted through beacon a few weeks ago. A few weeks ago she’d been safe and calm and frankly naïve about the way of the world. A few weeks ago she’d simply been a brawler and a troublemaker but now she was a Criminal and a killer. She closed her hand into a fist hearing her aching knuckles pop as she did.

_This fist killed someone, I killed someone. _It was a morbid thought and she wasn’t yet sure how that action was going to affect her in the long run. _Can I even go back.?_

Yang looked back and saw her mother, the Grimm-mask hanging at her hip, her body beaten and bruised but unbroken. She looked strong and noble and when the situation had gotten as bad as it did she’d been there for Yang. Raven was what Yang had hoped she’d be and more besides.

_Do I want to? _Yang's thoughts drifted to the betrayals she'd suffered, the attacks, the hunts and the willingness to sacrifice her for some ‘greater good'. But a tiny glimmer cut through the dark thoughts of Yang's mind a smile on a pale face framed by hair as white as snow, a graceful walk, stunning confidence and skill with a blade that one couldn't help but admire.

_Weiss._ _Would she want to be with someone like me after what I’ve done? _That doubt bit at her mind and filled her with a cold fear she wasn’t sure she wanted to confront. Yang didn’t know what to do next she wanted Raven to make the decision on this, but as she looked up to her mother she saw a familiar look. A look that said ‘The decision is yours’. Yang took a deep breath and planted her feet before turning to face Roman and Neo.

"Let him go," she said coolly, Mercury had slipped through her fingers fair and square, and they were in no condition to hunt him down. "maybe we'll track him down once things cool down here, but we got what we came for. Let him run"

Yang punched her palm and put on her cruelest smile. “If he comes after us, we’ll be more than ready for him”

Roman chuffed at that, Neo put on a similarly demented grin and as Yang turned back to her mother she received an approving nod.

"That's my girl" she whispered so that only Yang could hear her before dawning her Grimm mask again. "We're leaving Vale tonight" Raven announced limping out of the room her new rag-tag team following her. "Say goodbye to Beacon it'll be a while before we can get back here again"

Yang followed her mother, it was the hardest thing she’d ever done, saying goodbye to Beacon; a place she used to consider home and into a darker world. And yet she took that step forward.

It was time to say goodbye.

* * *

**Yang **

"It's been two years," Yang said to no one in particular, looking over an old vista she wasn't sure she'd ever see again. It had been two years since she'd been back, not to Vale, but to Beacon. The towers were still immaculate, the greenery and foliage were the golden orange of fall and hell there were Atlas ships flying in the air. "It's like I never left."

The thought made her miserable as she looked over the Beacon skyline her Grimm-mask strapped to her hip as she looked over the sunrise. Ever since the Vytal festival, she'd felt antsy when in Vale, Beacon was like that but far worse. Apparently, people feel waves of strange nostalgia when they return to their old schools, remembering better more innocent moments in their lives and lament how much they've grown.

Yang had that feeling but it was poisoned, poisoned by her arrest and tainted by the life she lived afterward. Her fond memories didn't remind her of how innocent she once was but, how naïve she'd been. She wasn't sure if she missed being that unaware girl, or just missed not being hunted down like a rabid animal. Her hand reached up towards her eyelid and another idea that lingered in the back of her mind resurfaced.

_Sometimes I miss my old eyes._ Her red eyes gave her confidence when she looked in the mirror, but her old lilac eyes were calmer and gave her an easy energy. The red eyes for all their strength, rarely put people at ease. _Not that I care about things like that anymore._

She redonned her mask as the last bit of the sun crested the horizon. A cool breeze blew in carrying the red and orange autumn leaves with it, the wind caressed the Grimm-masked woman and again she felt like a stranger in a place she once called home.

_It was fall when I left, wasn't it?_ A small idea hit her that almost made her chuckle. _And Pyrrha became the fall-maiden. Fate sure is funny._

She blew out a breath and continued her observation of the school from her position atop one of the smaller nearby towers. The flight there had been awkward between her and her mother. It was as if Raven had wanted to say something but couldn't find the right words to say it. That was… odd to say the least. Yang was frustrated that Raven wasn't telling her something and yet couldn't blame Raven for not saying it. That mix of emotions had left her stomach burbling in confusion. _I’ll do you proud mom_

Because of that, she'd been happy to get some recon done while the rest of the team set a few things up. She’d hoped that a little alone time would clear her head, but the rotten nostalgia of Beacon was determined to throw a wrench into that plan. They’d landed in Vale about a Week prior but the tension persisted, it took a couple days for her to finish scouting out the city of vale but a combination of dread and difficulty had held her back from checking out her former school, until now that is.

"Enough mopping just check out the Atlas base and get the assessment" she muttered to herself, no one was around, it was morning and few people would climb a freakin tower like her. Standing up she stretched away from the strains that always seemed to follow a long ride on any type of airship. Her bones cracked and popped as she pulled them taut.

Her gaze lingered over the most picturesque view in front of her, always being drawn to the one eyesore in the whole vista: The Atlas military base. While the rest of Beacon and Vale had a sort of classical old yet new look to it, Atlas had a white sterile style that didn't mesh well with the aesthetics of Beacon. The military base was attached to Beacon like a mechanical tumor almost hateful towards the host it had latched onto.

_Dust they don’t even try to make them meld_. Yang thought with an annoyed sneer, hopping down from her tower perch, red leaves racing through her vision right before she hit the ground. _Could go together like doilies and smoke machines if they put in just a tiny bit of effort._

She sauntered through the empty Beacon academy, trusting that the few people at the school would not recognize her or would be so preoccupied with their own problems to really even notice her. Again the wind blew red leaves into Yang’s vision and she heard off in some corner an animal knocking into something and mewl.

_Must be some cat or something_. Yang paid the noise little and less heed as she got nearer and nearer to her destination. Her mind occasionally lingered on the locations around her and the things she'd done in those places back when things were easier; the courtyard where Ruby exploded, the hall where she'd met Weiss for the first time, their dorms where they studied and fooled around, and finally the old Vytal festival fairgrounds.

A cold breeze hit Yang as she stood on what was once the fairgrounds and she felt a chill run up her spine. Actually, it was colder than she expected, colder than fall in Beacon normally got. Her senses were instantly on edge and she looked around desperately for some sign, a shadow darted amongst the trees, the wind blew colder and red leaves flew past her face. Yang froze and focused her Aura to her eyes, those red leaves weren't leaves, they were petals and that shadow was a cat.

“Odd time for a reunion.” She said no longer willing to play along with their charade. Her enhanced hearing picked up the sounds of their feet crunching across the grass towards her. Yang turned and saw her old team together again at last. “Looks like Team RWBY is back together”


	35. Fractured Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang gets her say, Ruby confesses and Weiss is wracked with conflict.
> 
> Art by @Tovanori. https://tovanori.tumblr.com/

**Ruby**

“What?” Ruby asked Penny confusion clear and present on her face as Penny’s news hit her. “Wuh-wa-what di-d-did you say penny?”

Her voice was stuttering as the shock ran through her after what she heard, Weiss held Ruby’s shoulder like she’d done a dozen times before, it stilled her but only slightly she was still shivering. Penny picked up on Ruby’s reaction and knotted her fingers together looking hesitant to speak up again. Suddenly Penny found the top of her shoes very fascinating.

"Puh-penny" Ruby intoned drawing the robot-girl's eyes up to her own. She looked at her with a serious determined gaze, unwilling to let her shakes and fears dominate her. "Tell me, Penny"

It wasn't a shout or a command, but it was a sentence that would not be denied. Penny simply nodded and took a whole unnecessary deep breath, were this any other time it would have fascinated Ruby and in a small way made her proud of the robot girls continued efforts to be more human, but this was a dire time.

"My calculations stipulate that Yang Xiao long is most likely headed towards Vale, and more specifically Beacon academy" That was the good news, they now knew where Yang was headed unfortunately that place had its own issues attached. "Due to information gathered by Nora, Ren, my partner, Weiss and yourself, it is my belief that Yang intended to either bring harm to professor Ozpin or General James Ironwood"

_And that’s the bad news_. Ruby thought to herself with a grim fear in her mind. Images of Ursa’s fangs echoed in Ruby’s mind, she felt the shuddering come again and gripped her knee grounding her to reality.

“EXPLAIN” Ruby spoke through tightly gritted teeth, fighting the debilitating panic off. “Tell me”

"The target has connections between a number of less than reputable groups as discovered by friends Ren and Nora, said groups have connections to a league of Atlas insurgent forces with tangential relations themselves to a recent assassination of an Atlas official who was supposedly going to be sent to Beacon academy" Ruby could see Weiss' eyebrow twitch at the use of the word ‘Target' but the Atlessian kept quiet and allowed Penny to finish. "Further data… acquired by miss Nikos further solidifies this connection with the atlas insurgent forces via their agent codename: Mister Green. Grimm activity has heightened in the eastern regions lately implying the traveling of someone with dubious intent in their mind"

_That or extreme emotional instability _Ruby thought to herself thinking about how Yang had looked after she’d struck Weiss in the eye. The facts and reasoning spilling out of Penny’s mouth were grounding for Ruby and she mentally latched onto them, keeping herself here and now. She let go of her knee and blew out a tired stress filled breath.

"Thanks, Penny," she said with all the sincerity that she could muster, she looked at Weiss who's hand had wrapped around her own mouth with her pupils shaking as the Ex-Heiress processed what Penny had said.

"Oh, Yang" the Atlessian whispered into her hand. The hand dragged away from her face lingering for a half a second on her bottom lip as it left. "Oh, Yang no!"

_We were doing so well too_. Ruby mused with disdain as she ran her fingers through her red-tipped hair. The sweat was beading on her forehead, but her aura was enough to beat it back down. _Dust Yang this is monumentally stupid!_

Ruby gritted her teeth, planted her feet and turned back to Weiss gripping the Atlessian’s arm and shocking her partner back into the here and now.

_Not the first time I’ve done that for Weiss_. Ruby thought as Weiss looked at her with semi-panicked eyes. _It’s only fair considering how often Weiss does it for me._

"Weiss," she said letting the pain stay in her voice. "I need your help"

That was enough to banish the panic from her friend and partner, Weiss blew out a breath and gave Ruby a nod.

"We need to get to Beacon," she said.

“No” Ruby replied retrieving her scroll. “We need to stick to the plan and keep Yang on the wrong foot”

It took her a second to properly format the text on her scroll and even longer to work up the guts to hit send. She hoped that Nora would be able to restrain herself enough to not accidentally blab. Part of her was exhilarated, just as she had been when she first heard that Yang had been spotted, for once she was a step ahead of her sister.

Ruby turned towards her robotic companion the Robot girl jumped slightly now that focus was back on her.

“Penny” Ruby spoke, her voice serious and mission focused. “Who have you told about this yet?”

Penny paused and a slightly scared look came over her face, she scratched behind her ear almost nervously. Her long pauses frightened Ruby a bit as well.

“So far just you” she answered in a quiet voice. “But I will need to inform Atlas Command and… my partner”

The bottom of Ruby’s stomach dropped out and she could picture the mismatched eyes, dust she could picture that fight alone.

_It would be a massacre_. She thought her mind drifting to darker times and places in the past two years. _And Yang wouldn’t be the only casualty._

The dark thoughts and images vanished as Ruby’s old mischief came to her in her moment of need.

"Did Atlas command specify when you had to inform them of new information?" Ruby said with a knowing smile. At first, Penny was confused before dawning realization hit her and she nodded vigorously.

"I must inform Atlas higher-ups of new information within 3 days of learning it at the most, so long as I am devoting my time to further data gathering" she paused tapping the bottom of her chin as the cogs turned inside her skull. "I wouldn't want to send them information without confirming it myself first would I?"

Ruby laughed and held her robotic friend close. “No, no you wouldn’t”

Penny ran off into the city of Vacuo to gather up the rest of their team and bring them to their acquired transport. Weiss and Ruby were left walking towards the transport alone. Ruby was glad for this boon they'd been given and was even more glad to have Penny on their side in these trying times. Still, other thoughts started to intrude on her pleasant mood and as she tapped her chin some of them started to worm their way to the surface.

Weiss' hand came to rest on Ruby's shoulder and she looked up half startled by the sudden touch. Weiss smiled at her but even Ruby could see that it was a fake smile. Weiss wasn't looking forward to this meeting, and Ruby couldn't blame her.

"Y-y-yeah Weiss?" Ruby stuttered clearly more bothered by her inner musings than she gave herself credit for. "What'whu'what I-i-i-" Ruby shook her head vigorously trying to shake the stutter out. "WHAT IS IT!?!"

She had shouted that, more out of frustration at herself than at Weiss. Weiss seemed unbothered by it. The ex-Heiress was used to outbursts like this and could take them in stride.

“Something’s on your mind Ruby, I don’t think you should keep it in” she had an honest and sad look on her face as she gazed at her partner and friend, but that compassionate stare was made sharp by a directness that Ruby had only seen on Weiss’ face when a fight had begun. “You’ve had something on your mind since you fought Yang”

Ruby looked at her friend, saw the bloody sclera of her right eye and looked away awash with the guilt she wasn't sure she could explain.

"Its nothing" she lied lifting her hood over her head. The sand around her feet was kicked up as she walked not wanting to see her partner even in her periphery. "I'm just upset that she still ran"

"No, you're not"

Ruby froze, as the finality of Weiss’ words shocked her into attentiveness. She slowly turned back towards her partner, The Atlessian stood there with her hand resting firmly on her hip and a stern look on her face that would give Glynda Goodwich a run for her money. Ruby kinda wanted to bury her head in her hood just to escape that glare.

“Ruby you can’t be keeping secrets from the team” Weiss stated flatly.

"Why not you have…" Ruby mumbled almost weakly barely able to put a bite into her words. Dust she'd spat defiance into the faces of slavering Grimm far stronger than herself, why was it so hard for her to get Weiss to back off. "You kept your feelings for my sister a secret for YEARS!"

Now that did have a bite to it and Ruby flinched a little at her own words, Weiss merely raised an eyebrow.

"And that almost cost us the mission," she said hugging herself for a second before resting her hands on her hips again. "If you knew how I felt we could have planned accordingly but we didn't!"

Weiss took a step towards Ruby she rested her hand on her partner's shoulder it felt cool even in the desert night. "And I did tell you eventually Ruby. I was wrong to keep it in, right?"

Ruby simply nodded thinking about her own personal shame inside her how this inner shame was pushing tears out of her eyes.

"And you didn't leave me when I told you did I?" Ruby shook her head, understanding her partner, frightened to speak up. Weiss turned Ruby's head and locked eyes with her there was kindness, worry, and understanding in that gaze. "So talk to me Ruby please, I won't judge you"

* * *

**Yang**

It was a nice day, that was one of the most tragic things, it was a nice brisk autumn day. And that nice autumn day was about to explode into violence. The four women stood there facing one another on the campus that they once considered home. A campus where they grew up, for better or for worse. Yang could feel her muscles tensing, again and again, she knew by sundown of this day her body would be covered in aches and bruises.

Her eyes drifted over her former team lingering on each of them in turn. Blake’s hood was down exposing her cat-ears for all to see, she seemed tired and the bruises around her throat had completely vanished, gambol shroud was fastened tightly to her back. Yang didn’t know why but Blake baring her ears to the world gave her some tiny semblance of joy. Whether that joy came from knowing that Blake was just as exposed as Yang was, or from a buried desire as a friend for Blake to shed her disguises, not even Yang could say for sure.

_They still are cute though._ Blake’s lip twitched under Yang’s scrutiny and Yang wondered if Blake was considering baring her teeth at her. Yang smirked at the image of Blake hissing with very human teeth bared. _I’m not sure if that would be adorable or horrifying._

Ruby came next. Her sister was nervous, Crescent Rose was tucked away at her back and as Yang focused her vision she could see that her sister was shivering slightly. _It’s not that cold? _Her eyes traveled from Ruby's weapon and up to her eyes. The anger response kicked in hard as she looked into silver, all the rotten memories resurfaced; the fights, the bickering and finally the bullet ripping through her shoulder.

Yang felt the itching in her head again the desire to just start wailing on someone building up inside her head. She cracked her neck to alleviate the urge, even if only a little. _I’m on recon, lashing out might not be the best idea right now._ The Anger grew quieter and hid in the cave within Yang's mind.

"Ruby," she said through gritted teeth nodding toward her sister before her eyes turned to the one person she really didn't want to see.

_Weiss_

She was in a bit of a state, her upper sleeves were still missing, gracing Yang with a tantalizing view. But that view was not what Yang was staring at, no it was Weiss’ face specifically her eye. The sclera was stained slightly pink and there was a pink scar going across the lid.

_My fault._

That was the reality of it that Yang had been struggling to deal with, she'd maimed the woman she loved. And despite the mask and her personal pep talks she still felt guilt over her actions. She tried to drown it out, drown it all out as she looked over her former team, she tried to bury it in the anger that had come so easily to her before. Her sisterly love, her partnerly affections, and her passion bury it under her anger and resentment, it was a mixed result. She cracked the knuckles on her hand as she looked them over.

** _Utilize breathing exercises aura and the mask can restrain your emotions but your personal strength is just as important._ **

_Breathe in. _Air entered Yang nostrils scented with the smell of Fall right before the scent of Winter and Rose petals overpowered the autumnal stench.

_Breathe out. _She loosed the air from her lungs and it came out steaming like the fiery breath of some draconic beast. Yang’s left hand came to rest on her sword’s handle as she took on a more relaxed stance.

"Hey guys," she said her voice the very definition of relaxed while her body was itching for a fight. "Fancy meeting you here"

“Yang” Ruby began.

“Ruby” Yang finished for her sister, Ruby didn’t flinch, she didn’t seem annoyed she simply pressed on.

"I'm sorry Yang" she spoke in a quiet voice, but not a broken one and for an instant, Yang was taken aback as images of her younger days with her sister came back to her mind. Before the memories of the gunshot flung the aggression back into her mind, there was war with the emotions inside Yang's skull.

Yang brushed her hand over her scarred shoulder. She felt anger and hatred for her sister and she recalled their recent fight, the pain, the pressure, the excitement, the fun, the memories of a better time. Something older than her rage stirred in her as she remembered that fight, an older joy she felt inside her when she and Ruby had come to blows.

“I know Ruby” Her hand gripped her scarred shoulder as she stared her sister down, there wasn’t malice in her words it was the truth; she knew Ruby was sorry for what she’d done. A glimmer of hope sparked in her sister’s eyes at Yang’s speaking but that sight of joyful silver sent a jolt of anger coursing through Yang’s mind. She snarled towards her sister almost clawing at her head.

Ruby took a step towards her sister but Yang shot her a glance that made it plain that while she understood her sister that didn't mean she necessarily forgave her. Ruby halted and took a step back maintaining her distance from her sister, despite how much that action clearly hurt her.

_Well, at least she's learning. _Yang thought, proud that Ruby had learned from her previous bout with her sister at the very least. _I am dangerous in close combat._

"Yang you need to come home," Ruby said repeating what she'd tried to tell Yang back in vacuo. "Atlas is on your trail, you need to come in and let Ozpin handle this."

_Dust she sounds so earnest_. Yang mused the hilarity of the situation soured by the bitterness regarding it festering in her heart. _This has to be a joke._

Her eyes flickered to Weiss for the briefest of seconds and an odd image was caught in her gaze, there plain on Weiss' face was doubt towards what Ruby was saying. Yang felt her heart hammering in her chest at that sight before she shook herself back to the present. She arched her back and gave Ruby a sly predatory grin that told her younger sibling that she was less than impressed by Ruby's current view of things.

"Ozpin? Really Ruby?" She spat that out like an insult as she'd never heard anything so monumentally foolish before in her life. "He hasn't dropped the ball on you enough times for you to realize That Ozpin HAS NO IDEA WHAT HE'S DOING!"

Yang actually shouted that last part, barely caring who might hear. _Maybe I'll save one of these new students from ruining their lives._

Ruby balled her hands into fists and stood firm against her sister.

“At least he’s trying to keep the world safe” Ruby shot back. “Instead of hiding from responsibility”

That jibe was almost personal and an image of Raven echoed in Yang’s mind. _She’s going after **Mom!**_ The anger started to boil again but Yang stamped it down, she ruled herself here not her anger. She squeezed her hand popping her knuckles. _Might as well hit them with this now. _She looked over her former team, meeting all eye except for the pale blue Atlessian eyes. "After what Pyrrha was, became public, did you guys hear about a murder in Vale? About a woman found headless in an abandoned warehouse, her skull shattered into a thousand shards like a beringel mauled her?"

All she got were a few looks of confusion, she sneered.

"Did Qrow tell you how the maiden powers worked?" the words slithered out of her mouth like a serpent, worming underneath her former team's confidence like so many creepers. She saw from their faces that her uncle had spilled the beans. "Why do you think they chucked maiden powers into Pyrrha? Who do you think attacked the last fall maiden? And Why do you think Pyrrha got stronger in that last desperate second?"

It was dawning on them, and obviously, Ozpin had kept Yang's possible involvement under wraps, from what Raven told her that was par for the course with the body-hopping Wizard. Yang spat on the ground as if it would keep Ozpin's treachery at bay.

"Did they tell you who was hunting after Pyrrha and Why?” Yang said defiance full in her voice. "No they haven’t, because despite you all putting everything on the line for him, you’re nothing but chess pieces to him."

Yang wasn’t exactly proud of that killing but Ruby didn’t need to know that. She was proud of the beatings she’d dealt out on the fang, or the little schemers she’d broken but that wasn’t altruism that compelled her it was her desire for a fight. In that moment what she’d done had played into Ozpin’s game but she was proud that when she’d done it, it had been her decision not his.

“And I’m not his toy”

Ruby ran her fingers through her red tipped hair and took in a deep breath before letting go of her locks and allowing them to fall around her face.

"Yang, you're going too far," Blake said as Ruby composed herself. Yang shot her a glance daring her to go on. Blake's ears flattened as Yang's predator eyes glided over her. but she stood her ground and forced her ears up. "Yang killing to keep people safe is one thing! But this is different, Ironwood is different"

_They Know_. Yang realized panic striking her. She let the mask take care of it and cold control was returned to her. _They know what I’m doing but they don’t know everything._

“He was just doing his job when you-“ Yang silenced her former partner with a glare of pure distilled annoyance; a face that said ‘I have heard this a million times from people both smarter and dumber than you and it was unacceptable then as it is now’

“_His job_ you say” Yang rolled her neck, allowing her former team to hear it crack loudly and she worked out the aches in it. Suddenly she thrust her fists downward and unfurled her gauntlets in their pale glory. Everyone took a step back from Yang but no one went for their weapons. Yang’s gaze returned to Blake.

“How many illusion semblances have you encountered in these past 2 years?” Yang asked coldly. “1, 2, 5? How many?”

“Three” a smaller voice answered, it was Weiss and she wasn’t cowering from Yang, Yang felt a strange feeling tapping at her heart to hear Weiss speak up. “We’ve met three”

Yang nodded in thanks and Blake’s ear flapped in annoyance.

"How many do you think Ironwood has met in his life, Dust how many have Ozpin in his lifetimes!?!" the mention of lifetimes seemed to confuse her former teammates and it made her chuff at the humor of it all.

_They’re still in the dark, they’ve been working for the man for 2 years now and he still keeps them this deep in the dark._ The situation would be funny if it weren’t so horrifying.

"They were willing to make an example of me" she made air quotes as she said ‘example'. "All to keep everyone in Vale nice and calm"

"We wouldn't have let them take you," Ruby said defiantly. Yang chuckled and that chuckle turned into a mirthless laugh, but still Ruby remained strong.

“Wouldn’t have let them take me heheheheh.” IT was funny dust the whole situation was damn funny even now it was just dust damn humorous. “Ruby! The day I escaped they **were** taking me to Atlas”

Yang gestured at the flying battle cruisers the Atlessians pranced about in. she hated the sight of them, those big sterile floating prisons, Yang would be damned if she was ever stuck in one of those.

“Ozpin didn’t stop them then, and you guys, my team, did nothing!” She snarled her fake laughter completely gone now.

“We didn’t know when they’d take you!” Weiss shouted back emotion reeking off her in waves of sadness and regret, sensing her emotions didn’t bring Yang the Pleasure it normally brought her.

“Ozpin said he’d help you” Ruby added, she might as well have poured salt on Yang’s gaping shoulder wound.

“But he didn’t help did he!” Yang spat back at Ruby before Rounding on Weiss. “And you didn’t help me once I was on the run did you?”

The emotion was thick in her voice now as she confronted her friends and family. She pulled out her sword blade in an icepick grip and pointed it at Blake. "I was already a lost cause to you Blake, I was already the same as your terrorist boyfriend you damn hypocrite, acting like you weren't a terrorist just like him. Sorry ‘freedom fighter’ that’s what you called yourself. I…" there was a wetness in Yang's eyes, must have been the humidity in the air. "…I would have defended you to the death were it you in that cage. I would have spat in ironwood's face if he said that shit about you. Because that’s what partners do!"

She turned to her sister fury building along with fear as she looked into those silver eyes, they didn’t remind her of mom. They couldn’t. “Ruby you hunted me! Your sister!”

"I wuh-wu-was t-t-t-trying ta help y-yuh-you!" she stuttered as Yang glared her down, the Grimm woman staring down the silver-eyed warrior.

"Well, you shot me" Yang replied coldly, without warble in her voice, no ma'am if you thought you heard one you were mistaken. Weiss took a step forward.

“Hey! That’s-“ the Ex-heiress was interrupted as Yang pointed the barrel of Ember Celica in her face, Weiss took a step back.

“Weiss… you told them…” Yang couldn’t lie anymore, all the emotions were pouring out, she was completely and utterly miserable right now talking to team RWB and this was the worst part of all. “Weiss you told them where to find me. That was our place! Weiss… I… I loved you and you did that to me”

There were tears pouring down Yang’s face and she could feel the emotions welling up inside her former team, they were almost as miserable as she was in this moment. This team had fractured in ways that might not have been fixable and they all knew it. Yang took in a deep shuddering breath.

"YOU! BETRAYED! ME!" she growled into the empty fairground.

She didn’t scream and yet the words seemed to echo throughout the empty fairground as Yang spoke the words. The silence was eerie, and everyone present felt exposed in one form or another, even if Yang’s words hadn’t explained the entire story they had hit on some frayed nerve inside each of them. To an extent she was right, they had hurt her in their own individual ways and in this moment they were made painfully aware of that fact.

They weren't the only ones made aware of some harsh truths, as water dripped off of Yang's chin onto the yellow-grey grass at her feet, Yang had to admit something. She was crying. She had broken down and was now letting the tears fall from her eyes like rain. Why was she crying? Why was this confrontation getting to her when her one on one encounters with her team hadn't? Yang was trying to figure that out for herself.

_Why am I doing this?_ She thought, sending her aura to her face to dry away the tears, it was a fruitless effort since the tears would rain down faster than she could brush them away. _Why am I crying?_

She looked back at her team and could see the guilt in all their faces, she'd touched a sore nerve with each of them. Yang tried to muster her rage, bring out her anger towards them but as she looked at Ruby wiping away tears from her closed eye with the heel of her hand she saw the little girl in her mom’s cloak, she'd picked up and cradled like a babe, the little sister she'd protected and mothered when no one else could. When she looked at Blakes ears held flat she saw her partner she'd sparred with, a partner she'd helped recover from a self-destructive attitude a beautiful young Faunus who had it in her to fix the crap polluting the world. And Weiss…

_Oh, Weiss_. In the Strong tiny woman who stood before Yang with her tear-stained face, she saw all the sparring, the laughs the closeness and the admiration she'd had for the tiny Atlessian. She saw a woman who'd struggled to break from a controlling evil father and had become greater for the effort. And mostly she remembered that moment not so far off on that rooftop in Atlas, that one moment they'd had together that passionate kiss, that brief combat. Weiss had become powerful and stronger than Yang could have imagined.

_And she protected Ruby as you asked her._ That thought hurt her, Dust it all had to go wrong in the exactly wrong way, she stopped bothering to wipe the tears away and just let them pour. 

She thought of how Ruby had been sent after her _By Ozpin. _She thought about how Weiss had given _Ironwood_ the location of Single Fall. The rage came back in tinges at the thought of those people who were supposed to protect her and people like her, who’d thrown her away to keep up an illusion of safety.

**_Unleash the dragon_**. The voice Rumbled promising to take the pain away from her and make it all so easy, so simple. It was so very very tempting. Her fingers reached up and brushed against the Grimm mask atop her head. And she started to pull it down.

* * *

**Weiss**

"I want to fight Yang," Ruby spoke her voice filled with a peculiar certainty that Astonished Weiss. She felt as if a Geist had crawled along her spine.

“What?” Weiss asked unsure what she’d just heard.

Instead of answering Ruby reached up and pulled her hood further down her face, burying herself in her hood. She mumbled into the hood her confidence apparently ebbing away. Weiss held her shoulders keeping her steady, she felt Ruby shiver under her hands.

"Ruby, Ruby, Ruby" she cooed pulling the smaller girl closer in an embrace. "Talk to me Ruby, it's fine"

"No, it not" the smaller girl whimpered into Weiss' chest as she was held. "I'm just as bad as I was 2 years ago, I'm a bad person"

Ruby never really moved on from that day, that long ago. She still blamed herself for how Yang turned out, she still hated herself for hurting her sister.

“You Dolt!” Weiss said pushing Ruby away so she could look the girl in the eye. “You are not a bad person Ruby Rose. And if I hear you insulting my Leader and Partner again, I will be very put out!”

Ruby hid a chuckle through her sniveling tears and she gave Weiss a small smile. She hugged the older woman.

"Thanks, Yang" Weiss' face flushed red at those words but she simply hugged Ruby back content with not bring attention to that little tongue slip.

“Ruby”

“Mmmhmmm?”

"Tell me what you said," Weiss asked she felt Ruby pull away for a half second before steeling herself against the Atlessian's grip.

“I had fun fighting Yang” Ruby confessed loudly and clearly. “It was the first time in a long time that I felt free and unrestrained. It reminded me of when were just to sparr together just the two fo us on Patch, Qrow taught me almost everything I know but Yang was never far and always willing to help… I want to fight her again”

Weiss gave a low chuckle more out of shock than any sort of humor.

_Must be in the father’s genes. _She thought unable to avoid seeing how similar Ruby's mindset at that moment was to her sister.

"I'm serious Weiss," Ruby said misinterpreting her partner's chuffing. "She was willing to seriously hurt me, maybe I don't know maim me too. And yet I felt more connected with my sister in that last fight than I had in the past 2 years." Ruby wiped a tear with the back of her long sleeves. "even after when she did to your Eye Weiss. I'm so sorry."

Weiss said nothing just lingering on thoughts of how intimate her interactions with Yang had been and how her maiming had not dissuaded her and how unhealthy that seemed

“Weiss?” Ruby spoke unnerved by Weiss’ silence. “Weiss talk to me”

Weiss turned back to Ruby with a smile on her face. "Thanks for telling me, Ruby. I know how you feel, better than most." Weiss tapped her new scar. “You know how I feel despite it all, and you understood. I know how you feel Ruby.”

They walked on in silence for a while, each glad to have their secrets off their chests. Weiss was glad at Ruby for the telling but despite her laughter, she was left feeling ill at ease. Ruby had the same itch that Yang did, it was buried deeper and she controlled it far better but she'd enjoyed fighting, just like Yang. Weiss had to admit Ruby was more than comfortable in the midst of combat, Panic attacks were much less of a threat in the field.

_They are sisters after all._ Weiss mused happily to have everything out in the open.

_Although I’m not exactly practicing what I preach. _She thought remembering what Sun had told her. _Dust why did he tell me that?_

She was content to let that idea sit back in her mind for a few more days. She needed to focus on their mission; Find Yang, talk sense to her and keep away from Pyrrha.

* * *

**Maiden Handler**

The Job of a Maiden’s handler was rarely easy, long hours with a semi-unpredictable charge usually with only the best assassins sent your way. It is a thankless job and often led to serious injury or even death if the handler was not at peak performance.

_Whether at the hands of assassin’s or at my charge’s whims. _The handler thought, looking back at the Heterochromatic eyes that were staring back at her. _Always there, always making eye contact._

Were the handler a lesser woman she would have shivered at that stare but she remembered the first rule of being a huntress.

**If you show a beast weakness you will be devoured**

That belief had kept her safe and strong long before she pursued a path with the Atlessian military and it had kept her alive as she kept track of her charge now. The fall maiden was looking at her scroll with evident interest. She looked almost excited as her eyes lingered on the screen.

"What is it?" the handler's direct commanding voice brought Pyrrha's eyes off of the screen. Her smile never wavered, however.

“Just a troublesome partner turned into a powerful boon” she spoke with evident delight as a red dot blipped on the screen of her scroll. “Penny was always a good friend”

The words she said were complementary but The Handler only heard disdain hidden behind them. The Handler figured she would, being a maiden was one thing but controlling maiden powers while in the body of a champion athlete and possessing two souls.

_We must be like ants to her._ The handler thought rather morbidly her eyes returning to her binoculars watching the remnants of team RWBY walk to over to the nearby sand-skimmer, sand skimmers were useful devices but mainly they were utilized by either the incredibly skilled or the very desperate. But they had one advantage that most aircraft did not; they could blow through sandstorms no problem.

_Hmm, smart move._ It was a gamble but one she could understand and in some ways respect.

"Do you think you could tail them?" the handler said not bothering to look away from the White-haired Atlessian girl. "Without being seen I mean"

The handler didn’t need to look up to know that Pyrrha’s shoulder had dropped, the handler let out a soft sigh as if talking to a child who just couldn’t understand a very basic concept.

"They are not our target… as much as I'm sure you'd enjoy the confrontation, we need to focus on the real target" she let it sink in though she was certain the maiden hardly considered General Ironwoods disapproval as a deterrent, although the handler certainly did. "We are after Yang Xiao Long, her former teammates are not our concern"

“Are you sure?” the voice hissed out of Pyrrha’s mouth and into the Handler’s ear. Now she did look up from her binoculars and face her charge. The Fall maiden had the most innocent look on her face, except for her eyes that is, they seemed like they were hiding something extremely sinister in the glowing embers beneath the irises. “They didn’t fight with her then, but things can change over two years.”

The handler was silent for a while as she broke eye contact with her charge, her words were true as much as she'd hate to admit it, and though she was tempted to press one of the maiden's personal buttons she didn't hate the people of Vacuo enough to commit to such an action, instead, she simply said.

"Keep to the mission, minimize casualties" Pyrrha gave a curt nod to her handler and began tracking her ‘partner'. Meanwhile, Pyrrha's handler contented herself with watching the Silver eyed girl and the white-haired woman.

_Oh, Weiss_. She thought to herself with evident regret. _You fell in love with the wrong girl._

_ _


	36. RWB vs Y

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle gets rough, horrors and all

Something smashed right into Yang's face, it hit like a hammer with a steroid problem and crashed right into the bridge of her nose. Her hand left her mask and she swung wildly her knuckles hitting cheek. She staggered back her melancholy replaced by a wave of fighting anger. It was Ruby, she could see it clearly in the bruise on her sister's cheek, Ruby had head-butted her as she tried to lower her mask.

There were still tears on her sister’s face running down the swiftly vanishing bruise on her cheek. Yang’s left eye twitched again.

“What was that for Ruby!?!” she shouted still reeling from the sucker headbutt. Ruby didn’t reply instead her hand shot up and pushed the mask further up Yang’s face, almost off her head, Yang hopped back creating distance between herself and her sister. She lifted her hand to make sure that the mask was more secure when Ruby pressed her advantage.

Slapping Yang’s upward reaching hand away she followed her attack with a shoulder-check to Yang’s center and a spinning heel kick shot right at Yang’s cheek. Yang was so shocked by the assault she was barely able to properly block Ruby’s heel with her arm.

_Her unarmed skills have improved_. Yang mused with a tiny hint of pride, right before grabbing her sister’s calf turning and flinging Ruby further down the fairgrounds. Ruby didn’t exactly land with grace but she did land well with tears and fury in her eyes.

“I want to fight YOU! Yang!” the little silver-eyed girl shouted. “Not your mask! My sister! Not a Grimm!”

Yang didn’t know what to say, she was just dumbfounded by her sister’s intuition. Ruby had figured out that Yang’s mask had granted her abilities after only a single fight with her, Truly Yang was impressed. Ruby ripped Crescent Rose from behind her back and set it to Rifle mod, chambering a round for emphasis.

Yang could see the determination on her sister’s face and despite seeing her sister weeping not two minutes ago Yang was baffled by how intimidating her sister looked with her rifle held tight and her silver eye’s shining.

Yang snarled back, ever excited for a challenge and in desperate need for an emotional outlet. Tears still wet on her face she lifted her arms in a defensive stance her mind tunnel-visioned on her sister and her **silver eyes**. Then the Black cord wrapped itself around Yang’s upraised wrist and she only had a split second to recognize Gambol Shroud’s ribbon before she was flung through the air in a rising-sun arc.

_Remember what mom said about distractions._ Yang mused as she sailed through the air.

Although caught off guard Yang was never one to let her opponent maintain an advantage for more than a second or two. Turning in the Air she landed solidly on the ground across from Blake who's gripped the tassel in both her hands. Blakes stance was tense, more spread out and designed to maintain distance, and there was greater caution on her face, clearly she'd learned her lesson from the last time Yang and her had tussled.

The cord was pulled tight between them and as Blake pulled so too did Yang, both partners testing the other's strength and form. Yang had the strength but with both hands on the ribbon, Blake had better leverage.

_For now_. Yang mused reaching for the ribbon and in the last second loosening a length of ribbon from her arm and jumping back in time to catch her speeding sister in Gambol Shroud’s tassel. The force of a super-speed Ruby hit the ribbon like a tank; jerking Blake and Yang forward and off balance, the only difference between the two of them being that Yang had prepared for that strike.

Yang rolled with the forward momentum wrapping the ribbon around the back of Ruby's legs, entangling her sister further than she'd been previous before launching a low side-kick right at Blake's solar plexus. Blake rolled to the side pulling on Gambol Shroud to divert her momentum, partially wrapping her upper body in the tassel. Letting go of the cord Yang started to move towards her former partner when she saw the barrel of Gambol shroud aimed right at her forehead and despite the apparent entanglement, Blake's aim was not lessened.

The first shot struck home while the subsequent shots grazed and nicked at Yang as the Blonde-bruiser moved swiftly to create distance, untangling herself completely from Gambol Shroud’s cord. Her heart was beating like a drum in her chest, the tears were almost completely forgotten and the fight held her focus. Well held it as much as it could, her eye was twitching, she could smell iron in her nose and flashes of that day in the past were sending small spikes of pain to her head.

But those noises and feelings were muted in Yang mind, as the focus upon the fight took precedence. Blake and Ruby had untangled themselves in quick order both were maintaining distance from her keeping their weapons in their gun forms. Yang cracked her knuckles as her sight scanned over them.

_Someone would have heard Blake’s shot_. Yang knew gunshots at Beacon were common enough, but the more shooting occurred the more attention it would draw. _And a teacher is bound to investigate the gunfire regardless._

It was a bad istuation, her range was crippled by circumstance and they had the incentive to utilize their advantage of distance. Both of them had dedicated ranged weapons that were more than ready to bark loudly. Yang knew that if she wanted to maintain this fight she'd have to close that distance. She lowered her stance focused her aura to her legs.

Before she could jump forward, Ruby closed the distance and unfurled Crescent Rose sweeping the weapon right upwards at her sister's flanks. Yang was barely able to parry the upward cut with her katana and still, she was tossed back by the force of the attack, but Ruby wasn't about to let her sister rest, no she pressed her advantage cutting, again and again, maintaining a strong stance while Yang was forced into a backpedal.

** _Find your opponents Rhythm!_ **

Raven's voice echoed in her head and like all the other times she thought of her mother's lessons it brought clarity to her troubled mind. The speed of Ruby's attacks was ridiculous but Crescent Rose was still a monster of a weapon and required some build-up, so as Yang parried again and her mind analyzed. Yang waited for that split second build-up that Ruby required to swing the weapon, that tiny pullback that the scythes immense weight demanded.

Ruby raked at her heels, her side and up at her mask once again and as she pulled away from the mask the rhythm exposed an opening.

_Now!_ Yang thought, launching out her fist at rocketing speed right at Ruby’s face, right at those silver eyes. Only to collide with a tiny black Glyph.

_Oh_. Was all that passed through Yang s mind as she was flung backward with the same force she’d sent at her sister. She hit the ground like a skipping stone, rolling to a stop on her back in front of a pair of porcelain-white legs.

Yang looked up, Weiss looked down. Yang smiled at her, Weiss frowned. Yang forgot the fight for a second, Weiss didn’t. A Larger black Glyph manifested beneath Yang and pulled her down pinning her to the earth. It was like a goliath had sat on her chest the force was so great. Yang could feel the pain most acutely in her eyes. She began reaching up aiming Ember Celica towards Weiss when a black Glyph appeared at her wrist at flung it to the earth.

"Please stop this Yang," Weiss whispered over the torrent of blood rushing in Yang's head, Gravity is a harsh mistress. "Don't do this… you can't beat us"

Ruby and Blake walked into Yang’s view and she smiled, Weiss was fantastic, she was skilled as hell and put the effort and talent into becoming a huntress of high regard. But she didn’t know everything. She’d been planning for two years on how to fight the person Yang had been, not the person Yang was now.

**What is your semblance?** Raven’s voice echoed in Yang’s head.

_A muscle._ Yang answered gripping her dust katana tight in her hand and letting the flow of Gravity pull at her. If she weren’t so conflicted she knew she’d send a wink Weiss’ way.

“Nice moves” she spoke through gritted teeth to her team overlooking her. Her semblance sparked. “Let me show you some of mine”

And with that, her Semblance flourished. The Gravity Glyph was consumed in the black flame of Yang's hair and the flames jumped into Yang filling her with unbelievable strength. Gravity dust energy was coursing through her and she flung herself to her feet as the exhilaration of her semblance ran its course. She had consumed a part of Weiss' semblance and it was a part of her now, that left a snowy cold feeling inside her.

The black flaming haze surrounded Yang as her former teammates spread out to optimal positions. Yang let out a chilling breath, focused on her semblance and slowly rose off the ground.

* * *

**Weiss**

Yang was floating off the ground. The sun rose in the east, set in the west, magic existed, and Yang was flying. These were certain things to Weiss and she was unsure what to do. Yang had eaten her Glyph, Weiss had seen Glyphs fade out and break but never had she seen one consumed like that.

**Your semblance is like a muscle**. Winter had told her a while back, and evidentially Weiss, in all her planning, had ignored how Yang might have stretched that muscle.

_And like all her other muscles she’s really worked it._ Weiss brought her Rapier up keeping the point trained on Yang, team RWB were all equidistant from one another as they surrounded Yang._ Like a cornered Grimm._

The Grimm mask still gave Weiss chills it was just so off-putting in a way that she couldn't quite place and when Yang had it down, Weiss felt afraid. Yang looked back and forth over her former team, a grin on her face though Weiss could see that it was uncomfortably forced.

_The grin is for intimidation, Ruby can see that as clearly as I, dust Blake's undoubtedly noticing it as well._

The chink in Yang's armor was the eyes, her crimson eyes weren't smiling with her, they were miserable, and that emotion radiated stronger. This fight despite what Yang might insist was just her distraction. Suddenly Yang fell back to the ground, cratering the dirt at her feet before firing herself at her sister. Yang's fist shot out at her sister, Ruby side-stepped the attack but instead of moving back further she jerked and stumbled back towards Yang.

Yang roared spun around and smashed her elbow into the back of Ruby’s head launching her across the fair-grounds.

“Ruby!” Weiss shouted lunging at Yang with Mrytnaster. Yang sidestepped her thrust and pushed at the sword, the blade felt like it was being pushed away by a magnetic force and things began to click in Weiss’ mind. They clicked harder when Yang’s palm hit Weiss’ chest and she was flung back by that rather light touch.

_Gravity she’s channeling Gravity. _Weiss realized as she pirouetted through the air and landed on the ground near Ruby. The smaller red-head was already back on her feet when Weiss touched the ground and meanwhile Blake was busy engaging Yang.

"She's channeling Gravity dust," Weiss told Ruby, pulling the same dust out of Mrytnaster in preparation.

“I know” Ruby replied, falling to one knee and lining up a shot upon the combat engaged Yang. Yang was hopping back and forth, slowing her descent or even speeding it up, her movement and the movements of the things around her were becoming unpredictable.

_Getting a bead on her must be a hassle. _Weiss thought admiring Yang expansive skills. _Admiration can come later. We need to think Rationally._

"Call in JNR," Weiss said eliciting a small twitch in Ruby's eye. They had team JNR waiting at the outskirts of the fairgrounds in case Yang tried to make a run for it again. Penny was nearby yet kept well away from Yang's present location, to not interfere with her mission programming. "Nora at least, we could use the muscle."

“No! we can hold her” Ruby insisted. “Nora needs to maintain the-“

Ruby stopped instantly and fired Crescent Rose, the gun gave a loud retort and collided with Yang’s chest knocking the wind out of her. Ruby gave her a glare that seemed to glow to Weiss. She ejected her spent casing not taking her eyes off Yang.

“Keep her engaged, the Dust will run out, her aura will break and then we can knock some sense into her.” she paused for a second watching Yang intently with her fast-moving eyes. “She can either pull or repel never both.”

Weiss had noticed the same thing. She planted her foot in the dirt and readied herself to move when Ruby’s hand caught her wrist, she looked back at her team leader.

"Ice flower, garden Style," she said simply and Weiss knew what to do. Ruby started circling Yang while Weiss shot right at her.

Gambol shroud was coming at Yang from all directions, racking at her aura and slashing up the dirt around her, Yang was blocking most of the slashes coming her way and dodging what she could. Every few seconds though shed either pull or push with her aura of gravity and press the advantage against Blake, Either she threw the sickle off and jumped in to get a good strike in or she’d pull the weapons cord to her palm and pull her former partner into a dangerous melee area.

Weiss shot in as Yang pulled Blake towards her, the point of Myrtnaster thrust right into the aura around the larger woman's considerable chest, pushing her back a few steps, Blake recovered from the jerking pull and took a few pot shots at Yang, who slashed them away with relative ease. Red eyes locked with ice-blue and Weiss felt a regret worming inside her.

_Yang needs your help even though she doesn’t know it._

Weiss focused on her semblance, bringing the perfect glyphs to mind and thinking up the perfect locations to place them. Then she put her foot rightly forward and lunged at Yang. She slashed and cut and stabbed at Yang Xiao Long adapting to the push and pull where and when they came up, and with certain thrusts, she'd summon a glyph at Mrytlnaster’s tip outside of Yang's view, then another and another, each no bigger than a drink-coaster and left floating in the air.

But they were big enough.

Yang threw a right hook which Weiss duck beneath, slashing at Yang’s upper thighs. Yang tanked the hits and cut at Weiss with her dust blade. Weiss was able to bring Mrytnaster up in time to parry the blow but the scream of steel on dust was unsettling in the extreme. Weiss was in to close and she knew it, Yang ruled close combat and the dust katana gave her an extra edge Weiss was uncertain about. Before the sparks had even dissipated in the wind, Yang fell to the ground and locked her hand around Weiss’ heel.

Before Weiss knew what was happening Yang had lifted her into the air and held her upside down. The blonde had lifted the ex-heiress up bring her closer to eye level. Were this 2 years ago Weiss would have expected to see some sort of playfulness in Yang's face, and she would have retorted with some petulant remark that was there to mask real feelings.

Both were absent at this moment. Instead, Yang merely looked down at her with a cold pleading face framed by her golden Hair that itself was rimmed with a black aura. It made the gold seem darker somehow.

“Get out of my Way Weiss” Yang spoke coldly. “you can’t beat me”

It was Weiss’ own boast reflected back at her, and she could feel Yang’s strength in her grip as she held her aloft.

“You can’t do this, Yang you need to stop”

“NO!” Yang roared, her aura spiking and Weiss feeling herself being pulled towards Yang. “Ozpin Ironwood they’re spending lives on-“

She stopped as her eyes caught a glimpse of one of Weiss' tiny glyphs, then another and another. It was then that Crescent Rose fired. The shot arced through the air struck Weiss' ice glyph right before hitting Yang's wrist and encasing it in Ice. Yang yelped in surprise and dropped Weiss in a flinch. It had required some concentration for Weiss to maintain those glyphs but as Ruby sped to the next line up, fired Crescent Rose and encased Yang's upper thigh she knew that she'd planned right.

Yang slammed her fist into the ground shattering the ice encasing her and managed to roll away from the 3rd ice-flower shot, but as she popped up from the roll, Blake was there with her ice dust throwing knives and her chain sickle. Slashing swings cut at Yang's legs and heels forcing her to keep air-born and off her feet. As Yang took a step back from Blakes attack an ice round struck the small of Yang's back encasing it in ice. Yang rolled backward avoiding Blake’s sweeping slash and running right at Ruby.

Weiss slashed the air sending crescents of ice hurling towards Yang, who tried to shatter them with a swing of her hand only making the ice start to grow on the limb that broke the attack. Slowly surely they were freezing Yang in Ice. Her thigh, her back, he right arm all had the ice encasement and as Weiss moved the Glyphs soon every limb was locked cold. When she pulled her fist back to fire Ember Celica when Gambol shroud's Tassel caught itself around her wrist and held her firm.

Yang was shivering as the ice seemed to grow around her, her black flame sputtering out. It was utterly miserable to watch. It felt cruel, and Yang’s ranting before had been… cutting.

_Yang needs to stop… we need to stop her… we’re helping her?_

* * *

**Blake**

Her stance was wide she had to keep it wide as Yang pulled against Gambol Shroud’s tassel, her former partner's strength was immense and despite her freezing, she was still fearsome and strong. Stronger than she'd been 2 years ago for sure. Blake threw another throwing knife this time at Yang's foot freezing it to the dirt. Yang shot her an angered glare that might have killed someone weaker than Blake.

That look wasn’t Yang’s old petulance at losing nor her frustration and being messed with. Blake had only ever seen Yang direct at people she hated. That was a look that she’d seen on Yang’s face only a few times, when she first crippled mercury and when someone hurt Ruby. That look confused her for a second, Yang was in family protection mode, why?

_Her Mother! _Blake realized, there had to be more agents in this plan, Ruby must have suspected, and Yang had mentioned her mom when she first broke Blake’s ribs. _She couldn’t pull off a mission like that on her own, no matter how much of a jump she got on the General._

Yang must have seen the recognition on Blake’s face because she strained even harder against the cord. Blake wrapped her off hand around the cord and held it taught pulling at Yang’s arm.

_She knows I know._

Something else caught Blake’s eye; Weiss’ stance had weakened, tiny little ticks wracked her, small nigh imperceptible but still there to anyone familiar with the Atlessian’s meticulousness. Blake had seen it many times before when she ran with the white fang it was the look of a person having 2nd thoughts.

_No, not now!_

* * *

**Ruby**

"Stop it, Yang!" Ruby screamed not looking up from Crescent Rose's scope. "Stop it! You're not well you need to come home!"

Yang said nothing as a blank expression overcame her, she seemed like a corpse and Ruby could see it. It would have hurt less if someone had stabbed Ruby in the chest rather than let her see her sister like that, tired, dejected. Yang was supposed to be a creature full of life and energy, of smiles and passion, not a hollow thing.

_She's letting revenge control her._ Ruby knew what that was like she saw it claim the lives of many huntsmen and huntresses every day. But that's not all she saw. _Yang is tearing us apart and I’m letting her, I should have stopped her 2 years ago, I should have helped her 2 years ago, I should call team JN_R in to help, I should have! I should have! I should have!_

Regret that was almost as big a poison as revenge was for a Huntsman, it hurt Qrow, it almost killed her dad and it was ruining her now too. It was killing Weiss who loved Yang and lost her, it had left Blake isolated from the world and Ruby was letting her regret control her.

_I’m not going to let regret control me! I’m not going to regret this!_ She lowered her rifle and took a step closer to Yang. _I’m going to save my sister here and now!_

* * *

**Yang**

Yang was conflicted, she didn't need to pull the mask down to access its power it was something she could just pull from. Throughout the fight, it had whispered at her to Unleash the dragon and she desperately wanted to… but what Ruby had said had gotten to her just a bit. Was the mask a crutch was the Grimm powers she wielded like her semblance or were they a handicap? Did using them make her weaker?

_This really isn’t a time to be thinking about this!_ Yang mused recognizing that she was clearly on the losing side of this fight and that her negligence might bring her a swift defeat.

**_Unleash the dragon._** The voice was hers it was her power it was a part of her and she loved her mask but… but she wanted to meet Ruby’s challenge. She looked up at Ruby saw the pleading on her face, the seriousness in her stance, the words she was saying weren’t important the strength behind her words was. Part of her hated her sister for what she did but another part couldn’t give into that hate.

_I am strong. I made myself strong. _Yang thought, pulling harder on Gambol Shroud's Tassel and focusing her aura to her semblance. Her aura bucked at her, spurting off almost fighting against her, it was her emotional turmoil that was sending her aura into a frenzy.

**_Unleash the Dragon!_** Yang knew that if she focused herself into the mask the turmoil would be banished and she could focus on the fight entirely without needless distraction. She felt the ice pushing against her aura, stabbing into it.

_Do I really need the mask to keep focused in a fight?_ She wondered, she loved her mask but it felt like a crutch in this instant, she looked up at her sister and saw Silver eyes staring at her and fury hit her too look into those eyes, she didn't know why but they sparked a wave of anger in her.

** _UNLEASH THE DRAGON! _ **

Yang readied to unfurl the power of the Grimm inside her when her eyes lingered on Weiss, she was pleading just like Ruby and like her sister the noise was muffled and beyond Yang. She saw the red mark near her eye, the scar Yang had left on her. She took a deep breath in closed her eyes and-

**unleash the dragon…**

-banished the pleading voice from her head.

Her eyes cracked open she looked directly at Blake, Ruby, and Weiss in that order. Weiss had questions on her face and doubt hovering over her and she seemed taken aback as Yang looked at her. Yang smiled happily at her own thinking.

“I am the Dragon!” she said simply before letting the gravitational force erupt outward from her shedding the encasing Ice off of her like flaking skin, that aura push had cost a huge chunk of her aura but it was worth it for the surprise factor at least. She seemed to hover in the Air for a second before pulling upon Gambol Shroud and launching herself at the surprised Blake.

Blake raised her arms in a defensive gesture but Yang instead flew over her, hit the ground behind her and dived between Blakes legs, the tassel still firmly in her hands. With a roaring laugh, she pulled the cord and flipped Blake through the air and like a cat her Faunus partner landed on her feet, right before Yang swept them out from under her.

She moved Quickly handspringing away from Blake as Crescent Rose fired at her heels. As always Ruby’s precision was impeccable, but Yang’s movements were made erratic enough with the little remaining grav-powers she still possessed. She sprinted towards her sister, locking red eyes with Silver.

"You said you wanted to fight me, Sis! Let's go!" Yang shouted as she ducked under another powerful shot. "You and me Ruby!"

The old guilt taunts wouldn’t work, not here, Yang knew that and part of her was grateful that Ruby was stronger than that. Crescent Rose bloomed and Ruby rushed right at Yang, intent on giving her the fight she’d asked for. Her sister moved like lightning and any other fighter would have trouble keeping up but Yang’s eyes were better than most she kept track of everything.

Yang cocked Ember Celica pulled her fists back and right as she was about to collide with Ruby she fired both her gauntlets… behind herself and launched herself into the air, up and over Ruby. She smiled as she saw the dumbfounded face her sister was wearing, part of her felt anger at not engaging her but she was thinking pragmatically. She sailed right through the air, right towards Weiss.

Her leg lifted in an ax kick at the unsuspecting Weiss, who was barely able to throw up a white glyph to block the attack. The Glyph shattered under Yang's heel, the heel hit the dirt right in front of Weiss for a split second before Yang jumped forward and wrapped Weiss in a bear-hug, squeezing the princess tight in her grip.

This made cold logical sense, Weiss was both team RWB’s support and their powerhouse, Yang had to take her out first. If she was using her mask her next attack would have been easy, a quick swift beat down from this close intimate position, and then focus on her battle with Ruby and Blake. But she didn’t; she hesitated, the fight was in her and Weiss had betrayed her all those years ago but she still hesitated.

_I would have done the same with the mask on._ Yang admitted to herself, some things got through the mask and old loves were one of them.

"I'm sorry," Weiss said before shutting her eyes, rearing her head back and slamming it right into Yang's nose. Yang kept her grip even though the hit had shocked her, it was a solid hit and it seemed like Weiss had focused a portion of her aura to her forehead to enhance the strike, as such Yang's nose stung something fierce and might have even been broken.

Yang just stared at her for a second before chuckling.

“I love you Weiss” she blurted eliciting a confused and flustered look from Weiss Schnee’s face.

_I think Dad and I have the same problem._ Yang thought before arching her back and slamming Weiss into the dirt in a devastating suplex. Weiss rolled away from Yang summoning the Glyph blade to her hand in replacement for her lost Mrytlnaster, Yang drew her dust katana and jumped at Weiss only for crescent Rose to catch her foot mid-jump and flip her through the air.

“Ladybug! Set up!” Yang heard Ruby shout when Gambol Shroud’s sickle hooked around the back of her neck and flung the disorientated Yang into the ground. Yang grabbed the tassel as she rose ready to fling her partner into melee distance when Crescent Rose shot her in the center of mass kicking her back with the strength of a nightmare’s kick.

“Ice Flower!” Ruby shouted lining up another shot, the blade of Crescent Rose stuck in the dirt. Weiss didn’t move as Yang’s tumbling came to a stop. “Ice-Flower! Weiss!”

A White Glyph formed in front of the Crescent Rose's barrel and an Ice shard zoomed through the air right at Yang's face, in response, Yang shot her fist out at the incoming shard and shattered it to pieces throwing misty ice particles into the air around her.

"Ladybug! Swarm!" Yang planted her feet and took a wide stance ready for Blake and Ruby to cut at her legs from opposing sides. Instead, Blake sprung at her gun blazing closing distance with Yang as she fired. The bullets ate at Yang's aura and as soon as Yang's fist lashed out she only struck shadow.

The shadow took the hit and Blake spun away still firing at Yang particularly towards her face, Yang ducked down in time to see the point of Crescent Rose swinging right at her through the dissipating shadow of Blake. Yang rolled away and was able to avoid the larger blade of the scythe but not the sharp butt of the weapon racking against her upraised arms.

Her aura was weakening, she was being attacked from both sides and the people she was fighting were under no circumstance's amateurs. Yang felt alive and grinned as the Ladybug continued, Ruby wasn't coming in from a different side from Blake, she was using Blake as a pseudo-human shield, trusting on the Faunus' semblance to grant her an opening.

_It’s just got one flaw._ Yang thought as Blake ran right at her still firing her weapon, Yang lifted her arms focused her aura to them and just tanked the hits, and when Blake was in close distance she pulled her fist back to strike at her… and didn't. Blake created the shadow, all the same, slashing at Yang as she jumped but Yang paid the damage to her aura no heed as her fist shot out and collided with the swinging Crescent Rose, knocking Ruby off axis and following up with a left hook to her sister.

Ruby’s Aura cracked and sparked from the hit and she tumbled back before hopping up in a ready position prepped for more. Yang cracked her knuckles and took a deep breath, Blake was to her back Ruby to her front, her aura was lower than was safe and she was alive.

“You’ve gotten better Ruby!” she said breathing hard nodding to her sister. “You’ve mixed things up”

Ruby hesitated, breathing heavily before nodding to Yang. "Come back, we'll come up with some freezerburn variants." She was breathless as she spoke and let out a little chuckle at the suggestion, Yang half considered it.

"Nice try" Yang retorted cocking Ember Celica again and widening her stance. She focused her remaining aura to her senses, Ruby's plans had taken advantage of Yang's tunnel vision, she had to expand her perception to last in this fight. Her aura bucked at her but eventually, she reined it in and a melodious chiming noise hit her ears. 

The Noise Weiss’ Glyphs often made.

Yang turned towards the noise and saw Weiss with a glowing Glyph sword in the left hand, Mrytnaster in her right and a golden clock spinning incredible fast underneath her feet. Ruby had been clever, the Ladybug had been a distraction while the team's support and heavy-hitter built up the ultimate hit.

“oh…” Was all Yang said before Weiss launched at her at insane speeds.

Whatever Weiss had done it would have eaten away at her remaining aura, Yang could block some of the attacks but not all they seemed to be coming from everywhere at once, striking high and striking low, racking at her aura and pushing her back. Throughout the onslaught Yang caught a glimpse of Weiss' face, she was weeping, she was kicking Yang's ass and she was weeping.

_Oh, Weiss. _Yang thought as her Aura broke and the flat of Weiss’ Glyph blade slammed her into the ground with such force that Yang’s head was ringing.

Yang tried to stand but her legs gave out under her and she fell onto her butt for her efforts. She looked up in time to see the Glyph blade vanish and Weiss' Aura shatter like snow-flakes in the wind. Weiss fell to her knees same as Yang clearly exhausted from such a powerful exertion.

“Nice…” Yang tried to speak breathlessly before hawking up exhaustion spit. “… moves Weiss”

“Don’t spit Yang it’s rude.” Weiss retorted her hair a disheveled mess, not bothering to even attempt to fix it.

Slowly Ruby limped towards the downed Yang and Weiss, Blake joined them her aura the most intact. Ruby held her scythe behind her and put as much strength as she could muster into her stance and face.

“It’s over Yang!” She said with a certainty that echoed their father when he was in his more serious moods. “You are coming Home with us!”

There was no stutter in her words, no hesitation, there was the old confidence that Ruby once had that her actions could make everything alright. It was naïve and Yang knew it but she wasn’t in a position to do anything about it at the moment. Yang just closed her eyes and breathed deep, she couldn’t stand, she’d been shaken and she’d ignored her mask for this fight. It felt oddly fulfilling in a way but hurtful in another. Yang laughed a low chuckle as she fell onto her back.

_Mom’s gonna kill me_.

“You’re coming home with us Yang” Weiss repeated, bringing herself up on shaking legs.

"I'm sorry to say…" a voice cut in, sending an Icy chill running through Yang's spine, she raised her head and saw Pyrrha Nikos the Fall maiden standing in the clearing a halo of swords floating around her as she walked. Her two different colored eyes traveling over the 4 exhausted fighters. "… Ms.Xaio Long has been on the Atlas most wanted list for quite some time, I doubt she'll be returning to patch for a long while."

Atlas Soldiers and fliers seemed to pour out of the woodwork and surround the four of them, a confused looking Penny was led into the clearing by a tall pale woman that bore a striking resemblance to Weiss.

_Winter_, She realized. Penny looked both confused and afraid by all that was going on around her and when she saw Yang she gave a small wave before.

Yang could smell the confusion wafting off Penny, off of team RWB too. _This wasn’t their plan. _Yang mused at how the luck of the universe had set its sights against her. She laughed, hard, she laughed until she was out of breath, she laughed until it hurt. Yang laughed until it sounded like weeping. She tried to raise herself to her feet to give them a good fight but they gave out under her.

She was too weak to fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a review hope it was all you wanted


	37. Burning eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fall maiden has something to say

**Ruby**

Ruby was tired, she had a remnant of her aura remaining, but she was almost spent on ammo and she was certainly not in a position to take on someone like Pyrrha Nikos, even if the latter hadn't been a Maiden. Still, she put herself between the Maiden and her misguided sister. Again Pyrrha's eyes showed conflicting emotions.

_JN_R is still in the nearby woods. _She was unsure if Jaune and the rest could see this exchange and was frightened about what would happen if she called them in. Pyrrha's mismatched eyes made the area feel incredibly tense.

Yang's sobs had died down and she fell forward onto her shaking hands breathing heavily. Everything was flashing back to Ruby; the whole mess that was the Vytal festival and the Atlas occupation that followed it.

_I led them right to Yang._ Ruby thought, feeling the fire flickering behind her eyes again. _But how…_

_Penny!_

The mechanical Atlessian girl looked frightened and even a bit scared as she looked over the scene of the battle and when her green eyes came to rest on Ruby she simply mouthed. "Didn't know"

Ruby knew that it wasn't in Penny's character to stab a friend in the back, not even close, but despite the robot girl's vast intelligence, her naïveté frustrated Ruby somedays.

"You tracked Penny" Ruby accused right at Pyrrha, who finally drew her eyes away from her prey to focus on Ruby herself. "That's how you found us so quickly."

"It's a shame such action was necessary" Pyrrha replied all sunshine and rainbows, clasping her hands together in front of her. "When operating on a bounty mission for the Atlas military it is expected that you'll keep your employers appraised of all developments promptly"

"This mission was issued by Ozpin!" Ruby cut feeling fury over how coldly Pyrrha was referring to Yang. "We weren't working for the Atlas Military!"

"But Penny was! Not to mention it was Atlas' prey!" Pyrrha shouted back mania clear on her face and Ruby remembered the last time she'd been in the woods with the maiden. Images of a little red-hooded girl and a Beowulf came to mind as the 2 stared down one another.

"That's enough miss Nikos" a stern, almost matronly voice cut in. Pyrrha's green eye looked back at the tall snow-white woman who approached, it was Winter Schnee Weiss' sister. "further conflict would be unnecessary. We tracked Miss Polendina in the event that her ‘forgetfulness’ would get the best of her."

Weiss strode forward putting herself between Winter her sister and Yang, her crush… lover… Ruby wasn't exactly tuned in on what terms were necessary for their ‘relationship'. That discussion could wait till later. Both the Schnee-blings stared the other down, the air was dreadfully cold between the two of them, though Ruby attributed that to the Schnee chilling nature.

"Winter" Weiss said with the proper due respect, curtsying politely despite her disheveled state, although Ruby noted she did not follow up with a ‘your presence honors us'.

"Weiss" Winter replied returning the curtsy. Ever since the Vytal festival, the relationship between the Schnee sisters had been… stranger. Winter had visited her now disinherited sibling on more than one occasion but her visits were always brief and the subject of Yang as a teammate and fugitive always loomed over them like a hanged man.

Weiss had trouble looking past the uniform and Winter could not help but chastise for Weiss' lack of judgment regarding Yang. They still loved each other as sisters did but a rift had opened between them.

_I wonder what that feels like?_ Ruby mused to herself sarcasm dripping in her skull. This was better though Winter could be reasonable and chillingly cold at least she wasn't chaotic like Pyrrha. The danger of the fall maiden had been restrained for the moment but that threat still loomed over them, Winter holding her back was like throwing a Grimm into a cage, the action was a stopgap, the Grimm was going to get out eventually.

Winter raised her hand and the Atlas forces, barring Pyrrha, all took a step back from her, machines and grunts both. "You did well apprehending this fugitive Weiss" the word ‘fugitive' sent a tiny twitch through Weiss' eye. "But Yang still has an outstanding warrant for her arrest with the Atlessian military"

"And with the Vale authorities" Ruby cut in, stepping towards Winter ignoring the guns braced in her direction.

"Meaning, dear sister, that the capturing huntsmen and huntress groups may decide where the ‘fugitive' is sent" Weiss finished for Ruby. Blake locked dust forged manacles onto Yang's wrist and her own, Yang didn't protest she didn't even look up from the dirt. "And we have the capture, meaning the decision is in our hands"

"Decisions can be encouraged," Pyrrha said lightly, her eyes glowing as she balanced a blade on her fingertip. "or forced if necessary"

The Grimm was straining against the cage, Ruby could feel it. She couldn't beat Winter, Pyrrha and the assembled Atlessian forces. Dust she couldn't even take Winter, but she'd be damned if she was going to just let Atlas swoop in and take Yang from her.

"Atlas isn't in the position to just force an issue like that," she said her words cold and logical. "pissing off 2 kingdoms within weeks of one another isn't exactly a smart move"

The fall maiden didn't react at all while Winter seemed annoyed but maybe there was a hint of respect in that glare… maybe. Ruby raised her hands to try and placate all parties.

"We're in Ozpin's domain why don't we leave it up to him" a look of doubt flashed over Weiss' face but Winter and Pyrrha didn't seem to notice it since they were so focused on Ruby.

"He might extradite Yang to Atlas" it was a sour truth but Ruby needed to stall for time to keep Yang out of the fire and she definitely needed to keep Yang's would-be mission a secret. That information getting out would be grounds for Yang getting executed right this minute.

"That is reasonable," Winter said looking back to Weiss. "Miss Nikos and I will have to remain in Vale to oversee the decision. I will be bound to Beacon Academy for the time being then."

Though there was no playfulness in her tone, nor joviality of any kind Ruby could see that this was the closest that Winter was capable of saying that she'd like to hang out with Weiss while she was here. It was kind of sweet and Weiss gave her a half-smile of confirmation.

"I am not satisfied," Pyrrha said flicking her sword back into its scabbard. "I am not Atlas, I wish to take Ms. Yang Xiao Long now"

She sounded older somehow, slyer and crueler, the flame behind her eyes truly blazed at that moment. Winter put her rapier in front of Pyrrha stopping her, the fall maiden played her fingers along the blade.

"We follow protocol," Winter said ice-cold standing no reproach. "Even you Ms.Nikos"

"Don't think, Obey. That’s the Atlas military motto" She bit back pushing the Winter's sword down. She sneered at her commander as she took a step forward. Ruby stepped in her path, planted her feet and swallowed her fear. Ruby was afraid, ‘it was the only time you can truly be brave is when you're afraid' her mother had told her and she was certainly scared now.

Pyrrha loomed over her blocking out the sun with her height, Ruby's heart beat fast and ferociously a ringing filled her ears and the beratement of Winter vanished into the White noise. There was only Ruby, Pyrrha, and Yang.

"Move Ruby," Pyrrha said a tear streaming down her right eye, it sounded like the old Pyrrha in that instant, the caring girl who'd fallen in love with the dorkiest boy in school. "I don't want to fight you."

"I can't l-l-l-let you ta-take my Suh-s-sister" Ruby stuttered back feeling the sweat budding on her forehead.

"She's not the same person she was 2 years ago" Pyrrha whispered before looking away for a minute. She was paying no heed to Winter's admonishments. "None of us are"

Suddenly her hand shot out and she grabbed a red-orange oak leaf out of the sky and held it gently in her hands. This easy gentleness unsettled Ruby, and for a moment the tension in the air vanished and Pyrrha was just a sick suffering woman standing in front of her. The tension returned as the Leaf caught flame and vanished in the wind.

The Glow was back in Pyrrha's eyes and the tears were gone, in their place was a sneering face that promised pain and reveled in inflicting it. As that glow grew Ruby felt a fire grow behind her own eyes, it was painful.

* * *

**Yang**

The exhaustion was intense but Yang had dealt with worse, she felt the dust-cuffs on her wrist, tight but not biting and she felt spittle drip off her lip onto the grass. It took a second for the scent to hit her nose, a collage of different smells, emotional scents. She looked up and saw Ruby standing between her and Pyrrha Nikos, the Fall Maiden. Weiss stood off to the side of Ruby Myrtlnaster held at the ready in her hand and Winter Schnee was trying to get through to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha was a bouquet of conflicting emotions; anger, misery, pleasure, pain, fear, regret and to Yang's surprise a vindictive sadistic joy.

_What happened to you Pyrrha! _Yang thought disturbed by the kaleidoscope of emotions coming off of her.

In Ruby, she sensed fear, overflowing and primal. Ruby was scared, rightfully and she was staring a predator dead in the face. _Help Ruby. _Yang wanted to get up and smash her forehead into Pyrrha's nose, knock the Maiden to the ground for making her sister afraid. She couldn't, not now, but that protective sisterly want she once had returned to her now. It had been so long since she felt that way.

_Id probably still punch Ruby in the face after I knocked a demi-god to the floor._ Yang rationalized to herself _but Pyrrha doesn't get to threaten my sister like that!_

Pyrrha's hand came up swift as a hick-up grabbed Ruby's shoulder and threw her to the ground behind her. Ruby stumbled as she fell and took hold of Pyrrha's wrist and pulled, it was a valiant effort but Pyrrha seemed not to notice as she stalked towards Yang, dragging the redhead behind her. Weiss and Winter both moved to place themselves in front of the fall maiden but with a flick of her wrist, Myrtnaster and Winter's rapier were tossed away from Pyrrha. With another flick, a dark green weapon was in Pyrrha's hand.

_Not good_. Yang thought, fighting a maiden with full aura was a hard proposition, without aura it was near impossible. Digging her hand into the earth she pushed off the ground and rose to face her would-be opponent. The manacles clinked as Yang rose and she could feel Blake shake through the dust-cuffs.

Yang cracked her neck her entire body was ungodly sore, she was out of juice but she'd be damned if she just let Pyrrha take her without a fight. She cocked Ember Celica and got a wily grin from the fall maiden and a glimmer in her eyes that was strangely familiar. Pyrrha was about half a foot taller than Yang remembered so much so that she looked down on Yang as she approached.

The thing that was once Pyrrha Nikos paused in her advance and grinned at Yang, pointing her sword right at her. Yang stared her down.

_I'm going to die here._ She thought as she held her fist up as far as she could, her vision blurring as exhaustion hit her. _I'm sorry mom! I'm sorry that I was so weak! I'm sorry!_

Something caught Yang's eye Weiss was running towards her, everything seemed to slow down. Weiss was sprinting right at Yang her long white hair catching the wind as she ran and her ice-blue eyes locking with Yang's.

_If I'm gonna die at least ill get one good view before I go. _She smiled at the running Weiss. Yang Blinked, Weiss flinched in shock and Pyrrha shot forward.

* * *

**Ruby**

Pyrrha broke from Ruby's grip and shot out her sword lancing through the air right at Yang's unprotected neck. Panic took over Ruby and she knew one thing, _Yang is going to die if I don't do something right now_. But what could she do? She had some aura left but she was near spent and she wasn't on the right footing to even attempt to intercept Pyrrha.

The fire rumbled inside Ruby's head until the point of Pyrrha's blade was an inch from Yang's throat and Ruby screamed.

"YANG!" She cried and the fire exploded from her mind overwhelming her in fiery white light.

* * *

**Yang**

A white explosion erupted from Ruby's eyes as she called Yang's name and in an instant, both she and Pyrrha were consumed in the white mass and Yang felt searing agonizing pain. It was like her blood had turned to acid and Beowulf were raking at her flesh with their scythe-like claws, her body and mind were in agony.

The white light burned welts across her flesh and turned everything into white noise around her but still, it did not kill her, the metal of her mask seemed to be white-hot in this white and her dark voice was screaming.

** _KILL IT! KILL IT! KILL THE ANATHEMA! ITS GOING TO KILL US!_ **

Pyrrha had collapsed to the ground as well shrieking in torment similar to Yang, she held her stomach and was weeping with smoke pouring out of her eyes, nose and mouth as she struggled to breathe, Yang wondered if she was burning up in a similar manner.

** _KILL! KILL! KILL! I'LL DIE IF I DON'T KILL FIGHT KILL! FIGHT!_ **

Yang moved on instinct.

* * *

**Ruby**

Ruby was on the ground she was struggling against the void of unconsciousness when she felt something flick against her eyelash, her eyes shot open and a horrifying sight greeted her. Yang's fingers were reaching right for Ruby's right eye, her arm was extended as far as possible and sweat was pouring down her sister’s face as she strained against the forces pulling her back. Said force was Blake, Weiss, Winter Schnee and Penny, all were holding a shinged Yang who's grasping hand was extended towards Ruby's right eye, trying to reach her eye. Trying to pluck it out.

Yang's eye had a manic look to it as she struggled forward the red of her irises so deep it looked like they were bleeding and her pupils were pinpricks they were so small.

_Move! _Ruby told herself as she sat transfixed by her sister's clawing hand, the sight of it was utterly fascinating to watch and Ruby struggled to look away. It was like looking at the point of a knife. Yang's middle finger stretched far and this close Ruby could see that the nail on the finger was a pale white claw rather than a human nail and it seemed to grow as Yang reached.

The claw pressed against Ruby's lid, and in that instant, Ruby rolled to the side of her sister. Yang broke free slammed into the dirt exhaustion and panicked mania still full on her face as she rounded towards Ruby.

"**Silver-eyes**!" she growled running at ruby on all fours like a feral animal, Ruby scooted away unable to get up when Yang leapt towards her, ready to plunge down at her. The moment of Yang's jump seemed to stretch on forever as she hung in the air and Ruby forgot to breathe. Yang kept hanging in midair, it took Ruby a second to realize that adrenaline hadn't slowed down her perception of time. No Yang was suspended in the air by tiny dust enhanced filament wires, being manipulated by Penny Polendina who had the most serious face on in that moment.

"Friend Yang! Cease this foolish action now or there will be trouble!" she commanded her voice enhanced by some modular manipulator in Penny's throat. "NOW!"

Yang turned her head towards Penny growling like a beast, spittle flying from her lips when she suddenly stopped and the mania was replaced with a strange look, she frowned looked about her like she was unsure where she was and her bottom lip trembled. Finally, she turned back to see Ruby in the dirt.

Ruby was frightened, Yang had just tried to hurt her that was clear as day and she was sure that fear was evident on her face. Yang's bottom lip trembled her eyes looked around desperately and she seemed panicked. She tried to move against her restraints before taking in a deep breath and letting out a loud agonized shriek. The scream echoed through the empty fairgrounds and some Beacon students finally walked towards them to see what had occurred. Team JN_R emerged from the trees, weapons at the ready.

Everyone was there to witness this meltdown and Ruby could feel eyes on her, but her eyes were busy shifting from the shrieking Yang to the shivering Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos was on the ground huddled in the fetal position her swords spilled out behind her. No one seemed to have noticed her yet, so transfixed were they upon Yang.

_If the students of Beacon see the protector of Vale cold shivering in the dirt that's going to bring some bad things to our doors._

Ruby stood up she felt the blood rush to her head she stood so fast, it had blurred her vision but she had to act quickly, she pulled out Crescent Rose and fired it once into the air, everyone except Penny and Yang flinched at the noise.

"GET LOST!" Ruby shouted at the gathering crowd, she fired again for effect. "HUNTSMAN BUSINESS LEAVE OR EXPECT AN ASS-WHUPPING!"

The Atlas grunts followed her example and soon enough the Beacon students were ushered away.

"Teachers will be here soon," Blake said to Ruby, nodding towards Beacon's towers, Ruby looked down and saw half a dust-manacle hanging from Blake’s wrist. "Atlas will have a hard time keeping them off the scene."

"Good, we need to keep Yang away from Atlas" Ruby replied before nodding towards team JN_R. "Keep them back"

It hurt Ruby to ask Blake to do that but this whole situation was already insane and Pyrrha shivering on the ground might just be a ticking time bomb ready to explode at the slightest provocation. Or she might be fine, Ruby didn't know she couldn't risk a sudden shock like seeing Jaune, setting the powerful girl off. Ruby turned away from Blake as she stopped the fractured team, she didn't want to see that conflict, though she knew she'd pay for it later.

Ruby stepped towards the fallen fall maiden, and her knee buckled under her weight. She fell hard, hit the ground like a sack of potatoes and unconsciousness threatened to overtake her again. She lifted herself up on her hands and knees and vomited into the dirt.

_Dust what is wrong with me!_ The nausea wasn't there before but now it threatened to overwhelm her, the world seemed to shake in her vision and gravity played tricks on her as dizziness struck her. She closed her eyes hoping the feeling would go away, hoping a balance would return to her.

"R-r-r-ruby? Are y-y-yuh-ou ok?" Ruby's eyes shot open and she instantly regretted it as the light seemed to assault her vision. But she had to open her eyes she thought she heard Pyrrha speaking and as the cutting light dimmed she saw that Pyrrha, the MRT champ, the Champion of Vale and the Fall maiden had crawled through the dirt to Ruby on her shivering hands and knees.

Her golden-brown eye was shut and she looked a disheveled mess as she reached towards an injured Ruby. Ruby had to resist the urge to flinch away from that hand seeking to help her, but the compulsion was certainly strong.

"I feel like a goliath stepped on me" She admitted Nausea wracking her again. "are you ok?"

"It's quieter Ruby, it hurts but its more peaceful now," Pyrrha said her hand balling into fists in the dirt, she let out a gasp of air and her one eye started pouring tears. "They're quiet now Ruby, so quiet I can think to myself."

Ruby didn't know what to say, Pyrrha grinned at her when another shiver racked her body and her teeth were sent chattering. That grin had been the first genuine smile Ruby had seen on Pyrrha's face in 2 years. The grin vanished and she hugged her knees.

"It'll get loud again I know it, they'll be back I know it!" Pyrrha muttered into her knees. "I'm sorry Ruby, I don't have much time and I'm spending it talking about myself"

"Pyrrha?" Ruby couldn't hope to believe it was true, Pyrrha Nikos was all but gone as far as she could tell. "It… it's good to talk to you again."

Pyrrha suddenly arched her back in apparent agony and let out a groaning shriek. Ruby crawled over to her before looking back and seeing Jaune straining against Blake's restraining arm. Ruby was about to tell Blake to let him go when a Pyrrha's hand snapped out, grabbed Ruby's hood and pulled her down uncomfortably close.

"Ruby" she whispered barely audible, her other eye starting to flutter awake. "There's something inside me, it knows things, Ozpin isn't who he says he is, there's a monster out there. I can't stop it! I can't save the world it's too big! Ozpin won't tell me but that thing inside knows!"

Pyrrha shuddered her right eye starting to roll back into her head before she shook it away.

"She's coming, Ruby! I'm not sure what I’ll do when she does but Ruby… Ruby, you need to do something for me!" she was blubbering now and Ruby could only watch and nod. "…kill me, Ruby! There's a monster in me, Ruby, it shouldn't get out, I'm so scared"

Ruby was dead silent she didn't know what to do, say or think, she couldn't kill Pyrrha and she knew it, that wasn't something she was even capable of doing but her friend was so desperate she wasn't sure how to even comfort her. Pyrrha's fingers dug into the back of Ruby's neck and pulled her even closer, staring into her eyes looking for some answer.

"I can't" that was all Ruby said to bring despair to Pyrrha's face. The former MRT champion let out a shuddering sigh like she was disappointed but not surprised.

"Tell Jaune I love him" she muttered instead her golden-brown eye starting to open. "I never said it"

_Jaune!_ Ruby motioned to Blake to let him go but she was instead greeted with the sight of Atlas personnel surrounding her with a locked-in perimeter. Winter Schnee stood over her as imposing as ever. Pyrrha let go of Ruby's hood and reentered the fetal position.

"Please step away from the Maiden miss Rose," Winter said coldly with only the barest hint of compassion and pity edging her snow-flake. "She needs medical attention"

A stretcher brought in by atlas personal approached the downed maiden and Ruby started to get up on her shaking legs before collapsing on her butt.

"Maybe you need it as well" Winter offered with a sincerity Ruby waved away.

"I'll be fine" she lied still tasting bile in her mouth. "just need to rest"

"You need more than that," Penny said stepping out from behind Winter Yang cocooned in the dust-filament wire on her back like a fly trapped in a spider's web. "Let me help you, Ruby."

Ruby waved her off as well, Penny's hand flinched at the wave but she remained silent.

"Yang stays in Vale" Ruby choked out. "That was our agreement"

Winter bristled at being ordered by someone who was her junior and most certainly not her superior officer.

"That agreement stood until you lost control of your charge and we were forced to restrain her again" her voice was ice but Ruby was partners with Weiss Schnee she'd seen worse, dust these past 2 years she'd been dealt worse.

"Yang only went nuts because your agent was beyond your control!" Ruby retorted back towards the woman looming over her.

They stared each other down for what felt like a minute when one of the Atlas soldiers racked his gun, Blake in response locked in a new magazine, Winter teased the handle of her rapier and Weiss spun the chamber of Myrtnaster. Team JN_R stood to the back eyes locked to the stretchered Pyrrha, Weiss stooped and raised Ruby to her feet, Crescent Rose unfurled and violence hung in the air until a 12 foot long steel minute hand was thrown into the ground between the two parties.

Everyone jumped back from the enormous Clock-hand which was glowing with a purple aura, well most people jumped back Ruby stumbled back pretty much falling into Weiss' arms. The sound of high heels clicking on solid packed earth struck all their ears, the noise was made deafening by the anger of the person in those heels. Everyone turned as Glynda Goodwitch stalked towards them Riding crop held so tightly that all present could hear the leather creaking.

"Hey, p-p-professor" Ruby stuttered as her legs refused to stand her up again. Glynda shot her a stern look before turning back to the Atlas specialist.

"Ms.Winter Schnee, Team RWBY, Team JNPR!" Her voice was short and annoyed by the current proceedings. "Professor Ozpin has requested your presence in his office NOW!"

That tone brokered no argument, dust even Winter stood at slight attention when Professor. Goodwitch issued her order.

"Will do p-p-pr-r-professor!" Ruby said before taking a step forward, falling flat on her face and diving deep into the pool of unconsciousness.


	38. Fatigue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frustration and fatigue wears everyone down.

**Yang**

Yang's head was throbbing, that was the first thing she recognized, her skull was splitting in agony. The second thing she noticed was the chains at her wrist, she tried to lift her hands but the manacles around her wrist were more than a little hefty. The third thing was that her head was bare, her eyes snapped open and with great effort that Yang barely noticed that she was exerting she pawed at the top of her head. The Grimm-mask was gone! Her mask!

Yang let out a horrifying shriek, 2 parts fear 1 part fury, no doubt alerting her jailors to her consciousness. How dare they touch her mask, how dare they take it from her, it was hers and they had no right! Yang's eyes searched the cell for where they might have put the mask or a way to get out. This cell was different from the atlas cells she'd seen, it had the look of a Vale style dungeon cell though Yang could see it was larger than the one she'd been trapped in. It was huge, with a bolted to the floor cot on one far wall and heavy thick chains attached to the center floor wrapped around her wrists. The room looked like it was built to hold an Alpha-Ursa.

“And its all for me” she muttered, feeling Ember Celica’s absence almost as keenly as she felt her mask’s. the adrenaline was dying down and she squatted on the ground and went through her breathing exercises. “I fucked up”

She knew that someone was certainly listening in to her conversation so she prevented herself from elaborating. She knew what she did though.

_I should have Run mom! I fucked up! I'm so sorry, I ruined the mission cause I was too stupid and weak not too!_ Tears rolled down her eyes in stinging rivulets, dust she just wanted a chance to do it all over again, to either retreat or fight smarter or… or… she just wanted her mother to hold her.

A metal door clanged shut and Yang quickly looked up wiping away her tears, her emotions were harder to conceal now that the mask was gone, so she did her best to make herself presentable for the interloper. Said interloper stood far away from her leaning heavily on his cane, that sad sad look on his ancient face.

_Ozpin. _The sadness was buried quickly and the anger took its place, it was cold anger and Yang wore a cold face to match it. Yang stood up to meet the professor eye to eye, Sad brown against cold Red. He didn’t seem worried when Yang slowly approached him, ignoring the murder in her eye.

"Ms.Xiao-Long" he greeted her.

"Ozpin" Yang replied, dragging the chains with her as she approached him. "Where's my stuff?"

"Under observation at the moment" He replied flatly, taking a sip from his coffee mug. Did he know about the Grimm-mask and what it did? Yang couldn't say but she didn't want to give away its importance.

“I’d like that stuff back when I get out of here” Ozpin seemed to consider that proposal for a second but gave no reply. “I will get out wizard, you gotta know that”

The mention of ‘Wizard' did get a reaction from him and he raised an eyebrow in response. He pulled out his scroll and tapped a button. Yang was unsure of what the button did.

_But if I had to guess I’d say it had something to do with the recording equipment. _She thought, sneering to herself. Ozpin folded the scroll shut and putting it back in his pocket.

"It's been a while since we talked Ms.Xiao-Long," he said in a calm caring voice the halted Yang in her steady advance. "I try to keep on top of my students' woes no matter how wayward they may become"

“I’m not your student anymore” Ozpin chuckled at that tapping the ground with his cane.

“No I suppose you haven’t been my student for a while” he agreed. “Though I still consider you an alumnus of Beacon, regardless of where life has taken you”

He was being pleasant, and it threw Yang off ever so slightly, part of her expected to be treated like an insect under glass but as ever Ozpin was a chess move ahead. Yang crossed her legs and sat down, resting her head on her fist as she looked at the headmaster. Her body still ached but her curiosity regarding Ozpin took precedent.

"I'm sure you're especially concerned when they know your little secrets" that got the response she'd been expecting; wide eyes and hitched breath, he squatted down to her level and regained eye contact. "That little wizard jab wasn't in reference to your magic with grading, professor."

He was quiet for a second as he held his squatting position still leaning on his cane. He took a deep breath before speaking.

“So it was Raven who broke you out” it wasn’t a question more him confirming a hypothesis.

"Did you think it was THEM?" Yang asked, letting the chilling feeling wash over both of them. She touched her chest and glared at the professor. "You didn't think I'd be low enough to side with her, did you?"

“No” his answer was quick and sharp and he tapped his cane once as he looked away from Yang. “Is Raven well?”

“She still hates you professor” Yang replied flatly seeing through the small talk. “That kinda hate doesn’t just go away”

"No it doesn't" he muttered starring off, clearing seeing something far far away in a distant past Yang didn't want to think about. "No, it doesn't…"

Yang let the silence hang between them and she flexed against the chains, testing their strength against her own. She did small breathing exercises and brought her mantras to mind.

“Why are you back in Vale?” Ozpin asked looking back to her.

_Ah, the big question._ Yang mused.

** _If you must lie, lie around a seed of truth._ **

"Vale is my home" Yang replied. Ozpin did not indicate as to whether or not he believed her.

"There's more than that isn't there Yang" he sounded like a school counselor he cared but he was prying trying to get her to go deeper, reading into Yang's pauses and hesitations. "I am a teacher but I am also a huntsman and it is my duty to protect the world against those who would try and harm it"

"No matter the cost right?" Yang answered coldly, she didn't sneer when she spoke, she didn't have the joy in her to do that. Ozpin's mouth did shut and he looked away from her face in shame. "I'm sure you thought that when you killed my mother."

That caused his head to snap back to her, shock plain on his face and clear confusion in his eyes, his gaze explored her features trying to read her and discover her true meaning.

“Raven’s dead?” he asked concern and guilt in his voice.

Yang threw back her head and laughed, loud and hard the laughter echoing off the walls like a shout in a cavern. She didn't need to play up the mania, she didn't need to focus on bring out the rage and amping it up was unnecessary, this was as real as she could be. She slammed her chained wrist into the ground between her and Ozpin.

“Wrong mother Oz!” she growled through tight teeth almost willing him to shrivel into the ancient thing she knew he was with her glare alone. “or did you forget she was my mother too, was it cause I lacked the eyes?”

"Summer knew the risks-" he began when Yang punched the ground again, sparks flew off of her chains as she pulled them.

“DON’T SAY HER NAME!” her fury made manifest in her voice. “KNEW THE RISKS? You lying body-jumping geist…”

Yang let the insult hang in the air for a second before she decided to twist the knife even deeper in her former professor.

“You want to know what I know don’t you?” she said coolly and quietly. “You want to know how many of your little secrets Raven and I have pieced together. This is all a big concern play, its another con.”

“I do want to know that yes” Ozpin admit his fingers tightly gripping her staff. “ but I am also concerned for your wellbeing”

Yang smiled not buying a word of it. “I know about the body-hopping, I know who you’re fighting and I know what thing that they can’t do.”

That held in the air for a second and Yang could have sworn, at the edge of her hearing she could hear a little laughter. That chilling thought she'd leave be, for now, that **thing** wasn’t her concern. Ozpin took a deep breath and finally stood up Yang did not join him, he paced a little bit.

_He’s restless_. Yang mused her eyes following him walking back and forth across the room. _He’s thinking about how many people I’ve told and who knows._

Ozpin’s hand tightened on the handle of his cane. Yang’s heart rate increased as a new idea entered her mind.

_Would Ozpin be willing to kill to keep these secrets?_ The thought both intrigued and horrified her, immortals and magic would endanger the precious status quo he’d built up over the years so maybe one wayward 20 year old’s life wasn’t worth it. She was suddenly aware of how the cameras and listening devices were shut off and how restrained she was at that exact moment.

Ozpin's fingers uncurled from his cane and he let out an exhausted breath, he turned back to her with those sad eyes he always had and whereas before Yang saw a chess-master playing towards victory she now saw a tired man who'd lost too many men in his war.

"Then you must know why I have to do what I do," he said his arms hanging loosely by his sides. Yang rested her hand on her knee and considered.

"Alotta these people don't know what they're signing up for Ozpin," she said flatly. "People die not knowing it was for nothing"

“isn’t that better than the alternative?” he turned and started to walk towards the gate.

"The dead can't tell the difference Ozpin" Yang spoke somberly thinking of a grave on a cliff. "In the end, they're still dead"

The door closed, Ozpin was gone and Yang was alone.

* * *

**Ruby**

"What do you mean I can't see her" Ruby demanded, slamming her small fist against Ozpin's clockwork desk, she stumbled and took a second to catch her breath, Blake rushed to her side but Ruby waved her away, she rounded on Ozpin. "p-pu-puh-please, I-i-I can H-h-help h-H-her!"

Ruby had not fully recovered from… whatever happened in the Vytal festival fields and she was low on energy in general. Dust she’d been unconscious for a full day after her collapse in the field. When she awoke Penny, most of team JN_R and her team had been waiting by her bedside. Jaune had gone off somewhere to sulk and Ruby knew that that was something she needed to rectify.

_I need to give him Pyrrha’s message at least_. She thought sourly, all those little personal missions came second to her issues regarding her sister.

“Maybe you can help her” Glynda answered for Ozpin levitating a chair behind Ruby, Ruby accepted the offered chair for the moment. “but proper interrogation procedures must be recognized”

“Interrogation?” Weiss spat, she glared at Goodwitch and Ozpin, she even took a threatening step towards them before Ruby took hold of her wrist. That touch checked Weiss.

“What procedures?” Blake asked calmly, trying to find a way through this without issue. “After the procedures have completed might we be allowed to speak with her?”

"Due to a joint agreement between the kingdoms of Vale and Atlas, all fugitives who had committed crimes relating to both kingdoms, must first be interviewed by each of the kingdom’s bodies of justice thoroughly before the kingdom selects chosen representatives to question her and only after that are individuals outside that hierarchy allowed to meet with the subject in question," Ozpin said those words with no mirth in his voice and a tiredness that betrayed his ancient age, he slumped in his chair, bags were heavy underneath his eyes, and his top button was unbuttoned. "The rules must be followed. I am sorry. We'll alert you when you may speak with her."

Ruby had seen Ozpin in such a state far too often in these past 2 years, it was all such a great toll on this powerful man. The Grimm situation had never really returned to pre-vytal festival levels, Atlas was always present making the alliance with that kingdom an uneasy one and keeping some the rumors regarding Pyrrha under wraps couldn’t have been easy. Some days he looked worse than Uncle Qrow.

Ruby blew out a deep breath, she hated this, truly hated it, but she could empathize with Ozpin. She could see that he wanted to help her and Yang and to keep everyone safe, but that task had grown harder and harder each day. Ruby calmly stood up, nodded to her teachers and lead her team to the elevator.

When the elevator door closed Weiss spat and crossed her arms, drawing a confused looked from Blake. Ruby blew out another tired breath and dragged her hand across her face, this had all gone over better inside her head.

“I hate this” Weiss said simply leaning back against the elevator wall. “We bring Yang in and we’re cut off from her, just like that without so much as a thank you.”

_Weiss’ is getting better at deflecting and hiding_. Ruby thought, looking into her hands to steady her mind.

"Weiss calm yourself," Blake said getting a look from her pale teammate in response. "It's not often that someone needs to lecture you on the importance of procedure"

Ruby chuckled, it was weak and involuntary. “I’m surprised that you didn’t know the regulation beforehand Weiss”

"I'm not perfect," she said folding her arms over her chest and leaning back against the way. Ruby and Blake shared glances, they half expected Weiss to go on a 15-minute long rant about how convoluted inter-kingdom contracts are even by Atlas' standards, but instead, she just lent back and moped.

"We'll get a chance to talk to her at least," Blake said reassuringly. Weiss scoffed at that as well.

"That is if they don't ship her to Atlas without telling us" she grumbled back. Ruby had to give her credit, the Atlessian made a fair point, some underhanded tactics were being used here and with what Yang had said, she was unsure of what to believe anymore.

"Dust what did you get yourself into Yang" Ruby muttered before Weiss and Blake could ask her what she meant the elevator doors opened and the CCT lobby was opened before them. Dozens of students were quick at work, milling about and chatting but at the sight of team RWB they grew silent for a minute, shuffled their positions to look at them from their periphery alone before continuing their conversations.

Even now Ruby’s team were persona non grata. She started to move forward and her knees almost gave out under her weight, Weiss caught her and pulled Ruby’s arm over her shoulders, steadying her. Someone snickered at Ruby’s plight only for a dust throwing knife to be thrown into the wall a millimeter from their eye. Lightning arced from the knife along the walls frizzing the hair of the laughing boy.

The kid was dumbfounded, he didn't even have the wherewithal to draw his weapon; some sort of ax rifle strapped along his back. His team, on the other hand, did draw their weapons making a show of force against the outcast team. They started to circle team RWB confident that no one present would tell a teacher about what actions they were about to commit. No one cared what happened to team failure anyway.

Blake drew Gambol Shroud and aimed at the oncoming team, keeping them at bay while Weiss whispered to herself a mystical-esque poem. The threatened team was checked by the cool yellow glare of Blake and the more attentive ones were slightly freaked out by Weiss' mystical chanting.

“Team RUBE starting trouble again it looks like” The biggest one spat fingers curling around a shotgun at his hip. “got Atlas digging deeper into-“

"Do please go on!" Weiss shouted over the noise a shining white glyph over her wrist, neck, and waist. The Glyphs started to travel over her arming her in glittering ghost-mail, Blake took Ruby while Weiss stepped forward. "Please do prattle on and tell me exactly what your simpleton-brain thinks about my team's actions!"

The whole crowd took a step back from the ghost-armored girl. The gigantic broadsword flared into existence and Weiss gripped it at the same time she drew Mrytenaster. Different style blades and yet she held them with expert hands. The advancing students started to retreat, Weiss took a step forward hateful glare plastered to her face. She swept the room with her gaze and followed it with her rapier pointing at every person in the room in turn.

“How many of you have learned to keep your mouths shut about MY leader?” she asked cowing the crowd. “How many of you have fought me two on one, four on one and learned your place? How many of you have teeth replacements?”

Weiss slammed her fist against her chest plate which rung with the sound of chimes as it was struck. “so if any of you feel like you have a shot at me, or Blake, or Ruby OR ANY OF TEAM RWBY!” Weiss thrust her ghost-blade into the stone floor. “Then know that I am 10 times as pissed off as I was when I first took you to the curb like the gutter trash you are. So I will have none of it.”

The advancing team sheathed their weapons and the whole floor averted their eyes in fear. Weiss merely raised her nose to their acquiescence, dispelled her armor and retrieved the still limping Ruby.

"That wasn't necessary w-wuh-w-Weiss" Ruby Whispered to her as they left the CCT tower.

“I’m just done with them Ruby, I’m sick to death of it.” She sheathed Mrytnaster. “Even after all we’ve done to bring Yang back home they still laugh at you.”

Ruby set a hand on Weiss’ shoulder, stopping her in her track.

“that’s not why we did it, Weiss” Ruby said simply, trying to reassure her friend.

"I know Ruby. I know." Weiss did know, Ruby knew that she knew but this was hard on her, it might have been harder on Weiss than it was for the rest of the team. Ruby was about to say something when a tall pale figure in white caught her eye. In a second Weiss caught sight of her too. Winter Schnee was walking towards them a look of determination set in her features. Weiss held a hand up and took a step towards her sister.

"I need to talk to my sister, maybe we can skip this waiting line mess," Weiss said before walking to meet her sister halfway. Ruby leaned heavily on Blake as they left their teammate with her sister.

Ruby tapped Blakes shoulder when they'd walk away, getting the curious look that was rarely on the Faunus' face. "I know you g-guh-g-got q-q-questions Blake" Ruby stuttered before biting her lip in frustration. "But they have to wait, I need to find Jaune and JN_R."

Blake didn’t protest, she didn’t question she just nodded and helped Ruby along towards wherever their sister team might be hiding. Ruby had a message to deliver and an apology to make.

* * *

**Weiss**

She was a wreck, her eye still smarted, she was exhausted, bruises covered her and to top it off her hair was a gigantic mess. If this were two years ago, dust if this were two MONTHS ago Weiss would be ashamed to be in the same kingdom as her sister looking as she did. But today was a strange day in a peculiar week in a damnable month.

_So fuck it_. She thought with a huff meeting her sister halfway, Winter was taller than Weiss, much taller, so Weiss had to look up at Winter when they finally closed the distance. There was no embrace, just a cold feeling generated between the two of them as they held there.

The area around them was icy cold no doubt generated by the turbulent semblances of each sister mixing and erupting around them as they stared off. Though it was Autumn within a 20-foot bubble around the sullen Schnee siblings it felt like the dead of winter.

“Winter” Weiss spoke sharply, giving the proper curtsy, though without much enthusiasm.

"Weiss" Winter returned the gesture, that was Atlas fencing tradition if Rank is irrelevant the junior must greet the senior first and await their elder's return greetings. If they were about to fence this would be the time for them to draw their blades and salute, Weiss even felt the urge to commit to such an action.

“Walk with me” Winter gestured to a small alcove with wrought iron tables and chairs, a meeting place that they had previously supped at. “There is much we need to discuss Weiss”

“Indeed Winter” Weiss retorted, she didn’t hate her sister, far from it but she’d seen and done strange things in this past week and she wasn’t in the mood for games. They came to the table and gently lowered themselves into the chairs and let the silence drag on between them like a sharpening blade.

"I am worried about the company you've been keeping Weiss," Winter said as simply as if she were criticizing Weiss' choice of dress. Weiss just rested her chin upon her fist and raised her eyebrows encouraging her elder sister to continue. "The fugitive status of your former teammate was bad enough, but this revelation that another one of your team was once a terrorist is likely to hinder your success."

Weiss nodded and pulled out a military-style water flask and took a cool refreshing drink, before responding. "Dually noted dear sister, though it will be promptly ignored."

Winter let out a tired sigh, though no doubt she'd expected this response. It wasn't out of some selfish desire that she said that, Winter was not like Jacque Schnee, her concerns weren't for her standing but Weiss' wellbeing. She wanted Weiss to have the best possible chance of success.

"I was going to talk to you about the same thing," Weiss said bringing the flask to her lips and shock to her sister's face. Weiss took a long sip, Winter's hand clenched but only for a second of weakness before relaxing.

“Weiss we’ve discussed this…” indeed they had, the topic of Winter’s association with the Atlessian military was often a point of contention between the sisters that they couldn’t help but rehash every other meeting or so. Blades had been drawn on the beaches of Patch more than once over that issue.

“Atlas helps and protects the world, keeping it controlled and orderly, keeping the Grimm at bay and the citizens of Remnant safe” Winter rehashed that same point from what must have been indoctrination videos the Atlas military members were subjected to.

_Now I’m just being needlessly paranoid and aggressive._ Weiss mused to herself letting her sister finish with her recruitment speech.

“My company amongst them is not a blemish on my honor” Winter finished resolutely, her implication hitting home hard. Weiss let out a chilling breath and set down her flask, smiling up at her sister from behind her mess of long snow-white hair.

“Who was talking about the esteemed Atlessian military?” Weiss said all innocence. That drew a look of confusion from Winter before realization dawned like the sun. If Weiss could read minds she was sure she’d here a tiny _oh her… _in her sister’s head.

The silence was drawn out like a horsehair bow drawn across violin strings for that one tension-filled final note. Weiss leaned forward into conspiratorial distance with her sister, her long hair falling around her face in a disheveled mess, her left eye still hurt but she kept it from twitching as she looked her sister in the eye.

“I love Atlas, Winter” Weiss whispered so none besides her sister would hear. “Despite everything I love the cold tundra and the thick black forests, I love the culture and the technological marvels… it is a beautiful place… but I can never return Winter, I am shunned in my homeland, maligned and spat upon by my people. My own family has rejected me.”

Weiss brushed a hair behind her ear and let out a sigh. "Except you Winter, and I'm thankful for your kindness. Atlas has banished me and I'd be willing to accept that if it weren't for Pyrrha" the name finally spoken sent a chill wind that made both sister's shiver. "You know there is something wrong with her don't you?"

"My charge's mental state falls well within acceptable parameters" Winter retorted keeping to the conspiratorial volume. "She is combat-ready"

“Combat Ready? She just spat upon your orders and was willing to kill Yang, you call that combat ready?” Weiss hissed at her sister.

“That was a fluke” Winter assured her with all her confidence behind it. “a rare occurrence.”

“and 3 fully trained huntresses would have been dead by the end and 1 fugitive with information would be dead as well” Weiss leaned back in her chair and scoffed. “If I had died would you still call it ‘a fluke’?” she asked with air quotes around fluke.

Winter stiffened but did not answer folding her hand and looking off, Weiss let out a sigh and adjusted her seating position, sat up straighter and combed her hair back with her fingers. She touched Winter's hand and gave it a soft squeeze, a move she picked up from Ruby.

“I’m sorry Winter that was needlessly Gruesome”

_But completely true_. Weiss thought but left it unsaid, saying it was unnecessary anyway; Winter knew as much as Weiss did that that had almost turned gruesome.

“Your verbal sparring skills have changed Weiss” Winter responded a small approving smile on her face. “Though you’ve lost much of your subtly.”

Weiss scoffed and tapped her chin. “I’m been forced to be more direct of late, and its rather freeing not having to meet HIS standards anymore”

Winter and Weiss both relaxed a bit, feeling acutely the absents of their father’s shackles.

“Weiss” Winter continued adding a little warmth to her words. “When I told you ‘to find out more about yourself’ I did not think you’d abandon your inheritance and assault the man” she smiled, covering her mouth to hide it. “Though I must admit I did find that most amusing”

Weiss chuckled she had not thought about her father in a long while and she had lost her fear of him long before that. Her time with Ruby on Patch in a loving home with a father who actually showed affection even to those who weren't his blood had done a lot in terms of shaking away the memory of Jacque Schnee.

“Father is just a weak little man” Weiss summoned a tiny Glyph sword to the tip of her finger and held it perfectly steady with her outstanding precision. “He doesn’t control me anymore.”

She flicked the glyph blade and it stuck itself into the table between the sisters. Winter raised an eyebrow at the glyph blade but no other praise was forthcoming.

“You do realize that Yang was the one who leaked Blake’s heritage don’t you?” Weiss said calmly watching the Glyph blade turn to dust in the wind.

“I had considered it, I believe the General running things in Vacuo made a huge mistake pursuing that further” Winter replied, watching the glyph dust spiral in the air. Weiss was glad to hear it an let out a sigh of premature relief. “Though the fact that it was kept secret is disappointing. Secrets are poisonous and we’d be better off avoiding them.”

And like that Weiss' fist was clenched and her heart rate shot up, her eyes went wide and she felt a pain in her left eye at its widening.

"Blake had just as much reason for keeping her secret as Ozpin and Ironwood had for keeping theirs’," Weiss said trying to keep her voice calm, ending up coming out rather tense. "I'd wager that THEIR secrets are far more poisonous than Blake's"

“And what of your secret Weiss” Winter answered, calmly as if she’d expected Weiss’ reaction.

“My secret?” Weiss asked confused and more than a little irritated. Now it was Winter’s turn to lean forward into conspiratorial distance.

“You fell in love with the wrong girl Weiss”

Weiss could feel her heart in her throat and knew her face was blushing so hard it must have resembled a turnip. When the embarrassment was hitting its stride the paranoia started to catch up. Winter knew! Winter knew which meant Ironwood and Ozpin knew if Ironwood knew then maybe even her father knew. If one person knew then many people knew and she was exposed, she was going to be thrown into a cell right next to Yang.

Almost unconsciously Weiss reached for Mrytenaster when her sister lifted a hand to stay her. She gave Weiss a look of deep cutting judgment wrought with a serious edge, but it was not a hateful look that heralded punishment. Winter let out a tired sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Exactly the wrong girl Weiss," she said with an exasperated sigh. "you do realize how dangerous she is correct?"

Weiss's finger brushed against her scar and she nodded, it was all she could do if she spoke she worried that her shaking words would betray her.

“Just tell me why Weiss” Winter asked coldly her sisterly duties taking on a militaristic tone. “And I do hope this is not a misguided attempt to spite father.”

That brought up Weiss’ ire and she was about to spit back at Winter before checking herself.

“He has nothing to do with these feelings, regardless of how it might upset him or not.” And it would have upset him to an extreme degree as he always was when Weiss showed interest in anyone ‘beneath her’ or anyone of the same sex. Weiss desperately wished she had a teacup to cradle in her hands to give her some balance. So instead she brought another summoning circle to her hand.

Her eyes kept off the circle for some time not bothering to summon anything just focus on maintaining it. She took a deep calming breath before speaking.

"She's passionate Winter, she can fill a room with energy with just her smile." The Glyph spun around her finger. "Class, creed, sex, and sexuality are irrelevant to her, she didn't grovel when she first met me, dust she was willing to fight me for threatening her sister." Weiss laughed remembering simpler times she looked at Winter with a calm honest face. "She reminds me of you sometimes. I believed her when she said that she saw Mercury attack her first, I still believe her…"

She saw neither approval nor disapproval on her sister's faces as she held there letting the pause drag out.

“But what she did or didn’t do back then is irrelevant now. She’s done worse since then and needs to be stopped.” She crushed the glyph in the palm of her hand and met her sister’s gaze just as hard. “Which is why you’re going to let me speak with her on Atlas’ behalf.”

A combination of disgust and shock ran across Winters pristine features.

“Why?” she asked partially curious mostly just annoyed.

“Because I’m not the only one who fell in love with the wrong girl” Weiss answered, retrieving her flask and taking a drink of cool refreshing water.

* * *

**Ruby**

It took a while for them to find team JN_R, they weren't at their dorms and instead were lounging around the statues near the courtyard. Nora was sprawled out on top of the huntsman and huntress statues tossing her grenade launcher into the air and catching it as it fell towards her, Ren was in a meditative position below Nora unfazed by the fact that Magnhilde had a high chance of slipping through Nora's finds and crashing into his face. Jaune was leaning against the rock fixed in a heated conversation with someone Ruby had not expected to see.

_Penny?!?_

Penny was chirping calmly to Jaune while her toe-headed fellow leader seemed rather animated by whatever he was saying to her. Ruby nudged Blake further one.

“I need to hear what they’re saying” she muttered to her teammate. Ruby had to keep her voice low any louder and she ran the risk of stuttering and that might ruin the gravitas of her words. Blake nodded.

“Do you not wish to be seen?” she asked in all seriousness.

“I’m a sucker for dramatic entrances” Ruby confessed as Blake crouched lower and on soft padding feet led Ruby closer to the argument from a more circuitous route.

As they edged closer the words became easier to make out.

"I have a right to see her" Jaune shouted at an unfazed Penny, who wiped some of Jaune's spittle from her face. He raised a finger and put it right in Penny's face again she remained ramrod still. "I'm tired of you and the rest of Atlas hiding her off in some tower like some sort of fairytale princess."

_More like a Dragon actually. _Ruby thought, inching closer to the distracted pair.

"Well, technically you don't have a right to see miss Nikos at your leisure" Penny pointed out raising her finger to list off reasons. Jaune was unamused and his face started to turn an angry color red. "While within an Atlas medical facility she and the Atlas higher-ups retain the right to deny whomeve-"

“I’m her partner!” Jaune shouted slamming his fist against his chest plate letting it ring out. He gestured to the rest of his team. “She’s still a part of our team and you’ve been keeping her from us!”

"Penny isn't responsible for that" Ruby interrupted, Nora caught her hammer, Ren's eyes opened and a wave of anger came to Jaune's face.

"No she isn't," he said stalked towards Ruby, Blake moved to place herself between the two leaders but Ruby held her back. "You are Ruby"

Jaune was standing over Ruby and it was only now that she saw how tall the Vale boy was. His nervousness was gone, the trauma was lessened, he was severely frustrated and Ruby was the target of his ire. He was tense every muscle in his body was flexing and unflexing, he was just looking for someone to fight something to lash out against and Ruby was it. Ruby couldn’t blame him he had a chance to see Pyrrha as she was and Ruby’s negligence had prevented that from happening.

She looked up into his eyes and part of her was ready for a beating, he looked down into her eyes, he pulled his fist back, Penny took a step forward, but Ruby held her back with a gesture of her hand. She'd messed up again, she screwed up even after saying she wouldn't let regret control her she let another thing to regret flop atop the ever-growing pile. Jaune held for a minute before letting his fist drop. Jaune looked up at the darkening Beacon sky and let out a shuddering breath.

“Why did you do that Ruby? Why did you hold us back?” he asked his voice uneven as he was denied even his rage over this event. “I just wanted to talk to her”

“I was worried that she would kill you Jaune” Ruby answered and after a sullen pause. “I was wrong.”

Jaune's head snapped back to Ruby and a cocktail of confusion, hope and anger flashed across his face as he struggled to process what Ruby had just said. scenarios were playing out within Ruby's head, wondering how much she should tell Jaune and what he would do with the information given to him and what right as a fellow team leader he had to know what was afflicting Pyrrha. 

As Ruby’s head swam, she started to walk to the statue to take a rest, Jaune reached out for her only to hear the cocking of Gambol Shroud next to his ear. Blake was staring daggers at Jaune and as swiftly as her gun had been raised Ren’s StormFlower were out of his sleeve and pointing right at Blake. Penny's blades flowered out behind her and Nora's knuckles went white as she gripped her great hammers haft.

The tension was high, and everyone was reeling in its effects. Ruby let out a sigh and took Jaune's reaching hand in her own and led him towards the statue, the tension died down and the leaders conferred but it wasn't completely gone. Ruby leaned against the rock and let out a shuddering breath as the monument took her weight. The monument was in dedication to the huntsmen and huntresses who lost their lives in service to the kingdom and she was leaning against it for support because she needed to.

_Just like the kingdoms need to lean against the dead for support. _A white cloak flashed in her vision and an older sadness struck her for an instant and she was afraid. She shook off the feeling and set her mind to her goal. _Tell Jaune what I can._

"Pyrrha loves you Jaune" Ruby just announced it and the effect was immediate, Jaune blinked, seemed confused then his brow furrowed before lifting and his whole face lost its tension. He turned away from ruby and leaned against the monument with her. He ran his fingers through his blonde hair smiled brighter than Ruby had seen in a while and slapped his hand upon his upper thighs. The smile was still there but tears were starting to pour out of reddened eyes and his lips quivered.

"She's still in there" was all he could croak out. Ruby set her hand against his shoulder to steady him as she'd done dozens of times before. "she's still in there…"

"so is something else," Ruby said flatly regretful of the fact that she had to burst Jaune's bubble, he looked at her confused for a moment before a horror dawned on him. "She'd Not well Jaune, and if whatever's inside her is in the controlling seat when she sees you… I'm not sure she'll be able to stop herself."

The shivers hit her again and she started to slide off the rock only for Jaune to catch her again. Ruby felt nausea and soreness throughout her whole body as she hung there. Jaune gently let her to the ground, her knee his dirt and she focused on her breathing and set her aura to help whatever it was that was wrong inside of her.

_What in dust is wrong with me._ Ruby thought in a mild panic.

"I'm willing to risk being killed for her" Jaune said with a naïve level of heroism in his voice and again Ruby could see a white cloak in her vision and could smell the scent of tear-soaked pillowcases. Her hand shot up and insane speed and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him down to look her dead in the eyes.

“Jaune if she kills you, there won’t be a Pyrrha left.” Ruby said through clenched frustrated teeth. “if she kills you Jaune SHE’S GONE!”

That shook Jaune and he nodded, Ruby worried that he’d foolishly try to heroically die anyway but she’d cross that bridge when Jaune tried to jump off it. She sighed knowing this before settling on her butt and leaning against the cold dead stone.

"Where's uncle Qrow?" she asked no one in particular as a blackbird flew overhead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a review


	39. Locked Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang is in chains and Raven's absence is galling her, meanwhile, a new element sets their sights on Yang

**Yang**

Yang was working up a fearsome sweat, she had been without her aura for a bit now but as with most deep sleeps it was coming back to her in the morning. So instead of reactivating her weakened aura, she set herself to exercising without it. And with all the turmoil going on in Yang's mind she was certainly working herself ragged.

She was down in the lowered push up position, the beginnings of the chain wrapped in her white-knuckled fists, she pushed herself up swiftly and off the ground and with a mighty effort flicked the huge length of chain. The chain thundered as it waved back to its lock in the center in the middle of the room. Then Yang fell to the ground right on her knuckles and did it all over again. She'd been at these indoor exercises for about 2 hours now and was pointedly ignoring her interrogators.

She glanced towards the bars of the door just to see what this new buffoon looked like this time. It was some representative of the Vale police with a scroll opened and a coffee-stained button-up shirt over a thin frame.

“So Ms.Long can you identify this item” he flicked the scroll’s screen and a holographic image of her Grimm mask hovered before her. Yang looked at it for a minute but said nothing and focused on finishing her set. “Can you tell us what it is?”

_It’s mine is what it is_. She thought, flicking the chain again, sending the thunder roaring off the cell walls. Her set finished she took a brief breather while the officer just asked the standard questions.

“Why are you in Vale? Where have you been staying recently? Are you aware of the activities of such and such? Were you involved in the event of Blah blah blah?”

It was tedium at it’s worst and she was sick of hearing it on repeat and them not getting that she wasn’t in the answering mood. Boredom and frustration were setting in though and while she’d be damned if she were to give them a straight answer Yang thought she might have fun messing with them.

“You got an aura?” she asked the officer interrupting another inane question, he hesitated and perhaps thought that him answering would help build repour with Yang.

"I do" he answered. "You can get it unlocked if you rank high enough in the force" that wasn't an uncommon practice since in a time of peace a strenuous skill set like aura training wasn't completely necessary.

"Ah, so that's how it's done" Yang responded making her mockery clear for him to hear. She gestured at herself. "I had mine unlocked at 6, and since then I've trained it to a razor's edge"

He seemed confused before Yang turned to face him with her unblinking red eyes.

“I’m so good now I can bust through a piss-weak aura like tissue-paper” she grinned at the man, it was a predatory hunter’s grin, a Grimm grin. “So say I give you and the force the scoop on one of my allies, who of course would have to be near my same skill level, but with half the scruples… how do you think they’d take someone attempting to arrest them?”

She was flexing on him, but she didn't care, it was as much fun as she could muster from these golems. In response, the fellow just coughed and continued with the questionnaire and instantly Yang tuned him out. She laid on her back and began her arduous set of sit-ups.

Her core screamed as she raised her head to between her knees and laid back down, all the questions rolled off, dust even a few insults passed her by. The investigators couldn't possibly hurt her more than she'd already hurt herself. She collapsed back down with a grunt and just stared at the ceiling. Tears brimmed at her eyes as she thought of her failure, she wiped them away with the back of her hand giving little care to the guards watching her.

_Fuck’em for watching me! Fuck Ozpin for making this cell, Fuck Ironwood. Fuck’em all!_ She thought, trying to push her sadness into anger, it didn't work her frustration with herself overpowered it. _…just fuck me._

Raven hadn’t delved into Yang’s dreams and she felt the absence acutely, that was how Raven had flexed her semblance, she could portal to wherever a person she’d built a connection with, was at any given moment, but what classified a person and where they were was a point that was up for debate. And yet… she hadn’t come to Yang in her dream last night and the absence was galling.

So Yang blew out a breath shuffled over to the base of her chains and began her Dragon-flags, the pain from that should be enough to distract her. Sweat was pouring down her forehead and chest as her body rose and fell in slow raises.

_Might as well give them a show_.

"Hey firecracker" an alcohol-laden voice spoke, one Yang hadn't heard for a long time, she froze where she was her toes pointed in the air before slowly lowering herself to the ground. She didn't turn around she almost couldn't.

"Hey Uncle Qrow," she said without mirth or mockery. She heard the flask slosh and anger flashed in her. "Do me a favor and try not to guzzle that booze while we're talking alright?" There was a pause in the sloshing before the sound of a metal cap being fixed to something hit Yang's ears.

“Thanks” she muttered before stilling her breathing and turning to face her uncle. To say that Qrow was in bad shape would be a grievous understatement, his cape was even worse than it had been previously, his hair was longer and lankier and the rings on his fingers had dulled and blemished since Yang had seen them last. His flask was still tight in his hand and he was shaking as he put it back in it’s Holster.

_He’s gotten worse_. Yang thought gazing up and down at a man who was once her idol. _Mom’s going to flip._

"You look like crap," Yang said as matter-of-factly as possible getting a small chuckle from her uncle.

"Says the woman in the jail-cell," he said with a playful grin.

“I didn’t make this cell” Yang responded cryptically hoping her point would bust through his ethanol-soaked brain. She stood up dragging her chains with her. “What is it Qrow?”

“I came to see how you were”

Yang lifted her manacles and tapped her mask-less head. “I’d be a lot better if you gave me my Grimm-mask back”

Qrow shuddered and a twitch in his hand was all Yang needed to see to know that he was thirsting for a swig.

“What is that thing anyway?” he asked. He jerked his finger backwards towards the metal door. “The Atlas nerds can’t make heads or tail of it”

Yang grinned to herself, the masks were always something else in regards to their composition, they were resistant to most elements and like aura infused weapons, took on the mannerism of their wielder. No doubt the mask was slipping off magnets and breaking someone’s foot, making everyone feel like a Grimm was stalking them when stuck in a room with it. At worst it was pouring all the hatred and anger and names Yang had whispered into it into the dreams and subconscious of the idiots fiddling with it, poking it, prodding it, daring to KEEP IT FROM HER, IT WAS RIGHTFULLY HER’S DAMN THEM!

Yang chuckled at the thought of the inconvenience it would bring those who would take her things. She turned back to Qrow and simply shrugged her shoulders.

“Don’t know, it’s neat though ain’t it?” Yang laughed slapping her knee. “people get a weird feeling when they look at it”

“Yeah they do, thing’s damn creepy” Qrow’s hand did that ‘I need a drink’ twitch once more. “You’re holding back Yang, you know what it is! Raven knows what it is”

The mention of her mother got a twitch going through Yang, her eyes narrowed at her uncle and she knew what he was fishing for. _He wants to know more about Mom._

A devilish grin split Yang's face as she looked upon her uncle. "You got me Qrow! Isn't it obvious?" Yang slowly rose, letting the chains clink loud and echoing. "It's a Grimm-mask!” Yang pointed at her face. “It’s my Grimm-mask! Cause I’m a Grimm!”

She laughed loud and mad, putting a godly fear into the drunkard. Soon the madness dissipated, the noise died down and a younger giggle took over and Qrow’s slacked face became a scowl. Yang whipped the chains and squatted down.

“Got no idea how it works or what it is Qrow” she responded through the giggles. “I wasn’t lying 2 years ago and I ain’t lying now, keep mom out of this alright”

"She's in worse trouble than you Yang," Qrow said with all seriousness in his tone. "I need to find her before she makes a big fuckin mistake."

Yang let out a swift sigh before falling back onto her butt, resting her hand on her knees.

"No chance you'll give me my mask back" she folded her arms and leaned into them. "I do miss it Qrow. I'd like it back… its all I got left”

"Maybe something can be done if you tell us where Raven is," Qrow said, he sounded like he was reading off of a script and that he didn't believe in the offer he was giving.

Yang looked away, she knew where Raven was, she knew where to find her and Roman and Neo. But she wouldn’t have sold out team RWBY then she wouldn’t sell out her current team now.

“That’s not a trade I can make Qrow” she muttered. “But you know that”

"Yeah, I do." Qrow scratched the back of his head in thought. "I'll see what I can do about the mask, its been giving the egg-heads enough trouble as it is, maybe they’ll be happy to be rid of it.”

"Thanks, Qrow"

Her uncle turned to leave and was halfway out the door when Yang called his name. Qrow turned towards her, she was standing by her cell’s doors a serious look on her face.

“I never lied about Mercury, Qrow, I never lied”. He just nodded but remained in the doorway. “What is it?”

"Ruby's trying to come see you" And suddenly a full force of remembrance smashed into Yang's brain. She'd been avoiding thinking her sister at that moment, a flood of Hate and Terror washed over her. Yang held herself shivering as she pictured her fingers reaching for the **SILVER-EYES** in her sister’s head and remembering the burning tormenting feeling of that bright light.

“Yang?”

She collapsed to her knees she’d almost gouged out her sister’s eyes, she had almost blinded her sister! Yang wanted to throw up, lucky for her she did staining the cell floor with her bile, it burned, burned so bad but not as bad as the fire. She’d been worried about how Raven would react but she’d actively repressed Ruby.

_No no no no!_ Balance left her the room seemed to spin shake and vibrate, she gripped her head she wanted her mask. Dust she just wanted the bad feelings to go away, to have some clarity, to be calm. _Dust I almost killed her, **dust she almost killed me!**_

She said nothing just waiting to hear the cell door close behind her uncle, it seemed like eons as she waited and the subtle laughter grew more sadistic and harsher in the back of her head. The door shut and Yang screamed, she screamed into an empty room since she was cruelly and frighteningly alone.

* * *

**Qrow**

The cell doors slammed shut behind Qrow Branwen as he exited the cell containing his wayward niece. He felt sick, he felt miserable and yet he still wanted to drink and make the whole situation worse than it already was. That was his mentality somedays; when you’ve hit rock bottom grab the pick-ax and keep digging deeper. Dust he wanted to drink and to vomit.

The Atlas idiots were hitting him with questions as he exited, questions about what she said, what does that mean, did they have a secret meaning blah blah blah! Qrow simply waved them off and shut them up with.

“Ozpin gets my reports first”

The dropping of Ozpin’s name was usually enough to get people off his back. He exited the Beacon holding facility into a gloomy overcast day. The holding cell was on the edge of the Beacon campus, facing the cliff edge towards Vale. It was currently staffed by both Atlas forces and Beacon Huntsmen. That combination had been the situation since the Grimm break-out in Vale.

_It’s just how things are now_.

Apathy, that was what hung over Vale like a miasma, the Grimm sort of had a taste for the feeling of numbness but not quite, so thankfully the situation hadn’t gotten worse. He marched through the courtyards of the school until he reached the all too familiar CCT tower, looking up Qrow could see that the tower’s large clock was missing a hand.

_The hell?_ He thought before shaking it off, he had worse things on his mind. Entering the tower, he slumped into an empty elevator, stuck his scroll into a reader and was sent down into the lower levels of the building.

_Left my daughter to the Beowulves? More like she was raised by them_. Qrow’s animosity towards his sister hadn't so much grown in the past few years as mutated. At first, it was easy, she got tired of taking Ozpins orders, bounced from Tai and occasionally kept track of her brother. That was a simple absentee mother who he still had to love cause she was family. Then the Vytal festival hit, Yang vanished and Raven was issuing threats, Yang showed back up and she was looking a lot like her mother. Was Raven taking on the mother role? Did she corrupt Yang? Is she to blame for Yang’s current temperament? _Am I?_

Wasn’t the first time that Qrow had taken the time to blame himself for his niece’s current outlook on life, had he stepped in or had he actually done some investigating and treated her like a human being. The world was filled with what if’s and he’d failed almost every one of them.

** _Summer _ **

He unscrewed his bottle and drowned out that name in his head, drowned out a lotta names. He guzzled a fair amount of booze by the time he reached his destination, alcohol spilled on his mess of a shirt. He briefly stumbled out of the elevator before recovering his balance, Glynda turned as he waltzed into the room a look of disappointment on her face.

“Professor Branwen” she addressed him with a tight courtesy.

“Professor Goodwitch” he belched back walking towards the ‘Containment center’ “Is she well?”

Glynda said nothing though a serious frown was strapped across her face. Eventually, they came to an enormous glowing green gate, Glynda plugged in her scroll and pressed her finger print against a scanner opening the great gate. Qrow had his fingerprints programmed as well but he preferred Glynda just take care of it. Besides he’d miss her engaging conversations if she didn’t come out to let him in.

The gate opened with a loud hiss and a blast of chilled air blew through Qrows hair, sobering him up rather quickly, it was followed by a wave of hot humid air causing his forehead to bead with sweat. Finally, the temperature normalized and Qrow felt like he'd lost 6 drinks worth of alcohol through sweat alone.

“What the hell?” Qrow muttered looking into the new room. _Dungeon would be a better word to describe it. _The room was expansive almost as big as the Beacon dining hall, there was a lowered portion of the room surrounded by dust lining blast-proof glass. From this shielded balcony you could look down into a gymnasium of a room filled with long-distance analysis equipment, work-out gear and every amenity you could think of.

In the center of this large room, the maiden sat cross-legged floating 2 feet off the ground. She breathed in and the temperature fell hard, she breathed out and the humidity spiked. Her eyes were closed and Qrow felt grateful for that small favor. Ozpin was standing on one of the protected balcony's looking down at his former student turned Maiden, he was frowning as he always was.

"Is ironwood fuckin with the thermostat?" Qrow asked sidling up to the headmaster. Ozpin gave him a half-smile and tore his gaze away from the glass. "How is she?"

“Miss Nikos is in top physical shape” Ozpin answered without relish as if he long ago disregarded the importance of physical health. “apparently the Silver eyes shocked her quite a bit.”

Qrow scratched the back of his neck, thinking about that, he didn’t fully get how the silver eyes were supposed to work and what they were supposed to target exactly. Dust it was so long since he saw Summer use them in the field he wasn’t exactly sure he could remember what it even looked like.

“Ruby’s gonna need to be told” he spoke wiping the sweat from his face. “Might be prudent to train her too”

Ozpin chuckled “I’m not sure the latter is within my power.” Qrow eyed him suspiciously. The headmaster shrugged. “I’ve never had silver eyes, in all my lives I’ve never had them. I don’t exactly know how they function”

That did shock Qrow he was used to Ozpin having a firm grasp of pretty much everything.

“Didn’t you train Summer?”

"It's not something that is teachable it seems its largely instinct" he rested his hand on the glass. "As for telling her… I'll leave that in your hands Qrow, I fear I've lost some of young Ms. Rose’s faith of late.”

_You and me both professor_

The stood in silence watching their fall Maiden who'd gone berserk not 24 hours ago, calmly levitate on a whirl of wind.

"Yang isn't exactly being forthcoming" Qrow admitted.

“I’ve noticed” there was no mirth in Ozpin’s words though it was followed by a dry chuckle. “Raven’s taught her much.”

Qrow let out a sigh and took a pull from his flask, he wiped his lips before he asked. “You think Raven was the one who saved her?”

"At this point, it would be ridiculous to think otherwise" He had a point though Qrow had been desperately hoping otherwise. Raven's involvement always made things more complicated.

“How much does she know?” Qrow asked, letting his gaze wander to the halo of swords levitating around Pyrrha’s head, it was always disturbing to him to look at that.

Ozpin was silent for a moment, no doubt going over the specific wording of everything she’d said to him, he was a man of great meticulousness and could spot the details of the devil-in-the-details. “She knows too much” Qrow’s heartrate quickened but Ozpin waved him down. “Nothing to be done about that… I don’t want it spreading though, I think she's aware of… **her**”

A chill ran up Qrow’s spine as he was reminded of Salem and what she had planned for the world and the mortals in it. Fighting her was often like fighting the tide, but she still had to be fought, she could be beaten. But the fewer people who knew about her the better.

“Maybe we should bring the kids into the loop” it was a suggestion that had been floating between them for the past year, Ruby was loyal, Blake was an expert operative and Weiss was a powerhouse. All of them would make incredibly useful members of the team. But they all had trust issues regarding Ozpin and Ironwood due to the issue with Yang.

“Bringing them in would kill two birds with one stone”

Ozpin was silent for a long time, the man certainly enjoyed his silences. Qrow just watched the swords spin and turn in their little halos.

“Find out what Yang told them first” Ozpin finally answered turning away from the glass. “then I’ll think on it. Heh depending how much she said it might be a moot point”

Qrow watched Ozpin walk down the steps before turning back to face the glass, only to be greeted with 2 glowing eyes staring back at him, he didn’t flinch away, he knew if he did Pyrrha might attack. He was afraid though, while she was here Pyrrha would be in Winter AND Qrow’s charge. But that would only happen once she was released from this cell.

_Yippie for me. _He thought to himself. _And speaking of horrifying things_

Qrow turned towards Ozpin right as the gate started to creak open.

"Hey, Oz!" Qrow shouted getting the headmaster to turn back. "Yang wants her mask back"

Ozpins already somber face became twice as Grimm and Qrow almost regretted the asking.

“I’m not sure that would be wise”

"Right… still, the kid seemed pretty desperate"

Ozpin simply shook his head and the gate slammed shut behind him. Qrow gave one last look at his ‘Charge’ before heading the same way, eager to be rid of this green grim place.

* * *

**Yang**

Yang’s fingers were cold white as she held the chains in her fists. So frighteningly cold. She wanted to unleash the rage again, break things, lash out… but there was nothing for her to lash out at, just an empty cell and her own mind. Even the interviewers seemed to cease after her meltdown with Qrow. She squeezed the cold metal chains feeling them press against her palms.

The emotions were building in her as she held onto the chain, she could feel her palms starting to blister from the pressure and were instantly healed by her aura, the chains shook in her grip.

_No._

Yang stood up feeling her own aura bucking at her, firing off her in gouts of ghostly flame as she struggled to lift the chains with her, dust they were heavy. Her teeth were chattering and her brow was sweating, it was all wrong. She lifted her hand and whipped the chain right at its foundation, it sounded like thunder as it whipped across the floor before clanging at its base in the middle of the room. She lifted her other hand and struck it down as well this time sending sparks flying off the chain. With a flick of her wrist, the chains wound further up her arms and grew tighter on her wrist.

_Fuck this! Fuck it all! I'm not going to be stuck here._

Yang whipped out, swinging the chains up and down fast and faster-sending wave after wave of sparks as she racked the floor with her chains. Each time she pulled tighter and tighter on the chains demanding that they break pouring her confrontational aura into her strength and fury.

“BREAK YOU FUCKERS!” Yang screamed before giving the chains one last mighty whip. Her knees collapsed to the ground the chain was wrapped far up her forearms, her palms were blistered and bloodied and she was desperately aware of the void of noise all around her. She let go of the chains and covered her face with her hands, her breath hissed out between her fingers and her mind drifted back to what happened and how she’d failed, how she almost maimed her sister.

The urge to weep was strong, but she’d already shown too much weakness to the Atlessian nerds watching her. Yang sat up unwound the chains and spat on the bar binding the chains to the ground.

_I need to get out of here_. She thought, knowing full well that prospect was an unlikely one. _And… and then what?_

She was still a fugitive, Raven had likely abandoned her and she’d just got beat into the ground by her team. The feeling of aching loneliness crept back into Yang's mind as she walked over and sat up on her bunk. She looked at her blistered hands and wondered what being a nomad would be like. Without friends, without family, and without her mask.

_Might as well have let Pyrrha kill me back there. _That morbid thought wasn’t the first one Yang had brought to mind that evening but it was wearing her down. She shook her head hoping that the thoughts would vanish. _Can’t think like that, gotta get out of here first, deal with the rest when I get to it._

The outer door opened and a woman in an Atlas uniform entered the room, she had darker skin and piercing blue eyes framed by perfectly cut hair. She was wearing the standard Atlas military uniform a blue beret sat atop her head. She had a scroll in hand and was flicking through an assortment of files. She didn’t even look up at Yang when she entered for a second Yang suspected that she might have been lost.

_I need the company anyway._ Yang thought, turning towards the interloper she wasn't sure she'd met before. She coughed briefly grabbing the girl's attention, if only for the briefest of seconds. Yang focused her aura to her eyes and read the name tag.

** _>Ciel Soleil<_ **

That’s what it read and Yang felt the tiniest ping of memory, but could not properly place it. Still, she remained quiet. Just scribbling on her notes and occasionally glancing at Yang.

_Okaaayyy?!? _Yang thought to herself her eyebrow twitching. _Is this a bug under glass interrogation or something?_

“Ummm? Hello?” Yang asked Ciel glanced up for the briefest of moments before returning to her scribbling. “Are you lost?”

Ciel shook her head before pressing a button on her scroll, a light illuminated from the ceiling projecting a holographic image before Yang reading her stats out. It was relatively accurate, size, height, Weight… bust size. Yang's eyebrow twitched at that being common knowledge to every member of the atlessian military.

_Note to self, strangle the person who collected these stats._

Suddenly an image of her current eye manifested. She glared at it and tried to move away but whatever was tracking her eye was following it closely. The pupil narrowed as her anger hit her and she grumbled trying to reel her own emotions in.

“What is this?” she asked from behind gritted teeth. All she got in response was a wave of a hand. She gripped the chains tightly again. “Hey robot girl!”

That did get her to turn to face Yang. The girl's face was Atlessian, it was cold and calculating, mathematically factoring in everything it could; a thinking machine. Ciel's fingers touched the scroll once more and the video was projected in front of Yang, video of her screaming in a dust filament cocoon. Yang's eyes widened as she watched herself struggle against Penny's wires unable to do anything, Aura reserves depleted. 

The charts on the projections changed, no doubt registering her changes in emotion and spikes in blood pressure. It was surreal for Yang to watch herself strain and cry against the wires before breaking down and shrieking. The image changed to a familiar bar in Vacuo as Pyrrha Nikos spun through the air ripping people apart with halos of swords and metal, Yang’s heart dropped into her stomach as Pyrrha slowly approached junior.

_No! _Yang thought in mounting alarm before the video feed again switched. Yang turned towards her investigator.

"What happened?" she demanded, marching towards the gate. "WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?!"

“Who are you working with?” Ciel asked calmly. Yang whipped the chains along the floor.

“Fuck you that’s who I’m working with! Did you bastards kill Junior!?” Yang lunged forward only to be stopped by her chains. “You have a problem with me fuckin fight me but leave everyone else out of this”

Ciel gave no reaction, except a slight raise of the eyebrow. She made a note on her scroll though while Yang felt her wrists scream straining against her restraints. Yang ignored the pain as she strained forward, the urge to find out what happened to her favorite bartender overpowering her suffering.

“Quite, now this…" she tapped the scroll and the hologram changed images of Pyrrha rushing towards her flashed above Yang, Pyrrha lunged Ruby shouted, Weiss flinched and the white flash emanated from Ruby's eyes. Yang flinched seeing the white light, and unfortunately, the video was set on repeat.

“…What was this?” Ciel paused as the white flash burst from Ruby’s eyes, pulling out a laser-pointer and gesturing to the light about half a foot out of the little redhead's gaze. "You and Maiden Nikos had an adverse reaction to this light. Why?"

Yang stared at the image, her heart rate jumping as she gazed. At first, she lingered on the white light and felt a crawling revulsion inside to behold the light but then she took in the whole image, things struck her and she felt a chill. Ciel's snapping fingers could not draw Yang's eyes away.

"I…I don't know what that… what that was" Yang answered. Ciel pressed a button and it showed a time stamp along with Yang's heart rate from a few seconds prior.

“This spike in your heart rate and pupil dilation suggest otherwise.” Ciel continued in her analytical tone. “Maiden Nikos had a similar reaction, why could that be? All speculations are acceptable”

“… monsters” Yang mumbled

“Come again?”

Yang finally tore her gaze from the frozen image. "I said ‘Monsters' Pyrrha…" Yang made sure to say Pyrrha's name, none of this ‘maiden' BS. "…and I are not exactly normal anymore, maybe the light is supposed to delete things like us."

"An unlikely response, seeing as how Maiden Nikos has been responsible for maintaining order and security within the kingdoms for these past 2 years. Monster doesn’t fit her well." Even this Atlassian's monotoned voice sounded more mechanical. "Besides that reasoning is a less than scientific in regards to your answer."

Yang snorted at that before taking a step back from Ciel loosening the strain she put on her wrists.

“I'm not a scientist I'm not sure what answer I can give you"

"very well then-" in that instant, Yang rushed towards the bars, her shoulder dislocated from her socket as she lunged forward giving her an extra inch, her face slammed into the metal bars her red-eye glaring right at Ciel and her shoulder's popping sound echoed through the cell. Ciel finally flinched and Yelped in surprise.

“I’m going to find out what happened to Hei Xiong, Ciel Soleil," Yang growled, as the woman backed up, a strange solid light construct formed in her hand. Yang took a step back from the bars her dislocated arm hanging from her shoulder, hurt like hell but she could fix it. "I hope my suspicions are wrong”

Yang grabbed her arm, focused a considerable amount of her aura and relocated it with a swift pull. She marched over to her bunk and by the time she turned and sat down Ciel was gone. The frozen image reset and the video played, again and again, no sound ghost-like as she looked over the scene. It was all Yang had now so she took in every inch lingering on that little thing that vexed her, that little anomaly that had grabbed her attention.

She touched her reset shoulder, it ached like hell but she could stomach the pain. She looked at the oddity once more and tapped her thumb against her palm, she knew that she couldn't go to jail or Atlas, there were too many questions left unanswered and she still had a job to do.

_I’m going to get out of here._

As she looked at the screen playing once more the same question that had been itching at her mind hit her again.

_Why had Weiss flinched then?_

* * *

**Stranger**

The news had gone through its normal boring cycles for the past few days, Atlas was still present, Grimm were still pressing on the edges of the kingdom, the same old same old. That was until 2 days ago when in a lonely dive bar a certain stranger was watching a news report with a tall mug of beer in their hand. Such an action was a normal thing for them, the drink had been their friend these past few years. As the golden liquid passed between their lips they saw it, Yang Xiao Long’s face plastered on the Valean news with the words ‘fugitive captured’ plastered underneath it.

The stranger nearly choked on their beer at the sight of it. The bartender gave them a funny look.

"Someone you know friend," the bartender asked snapping the stranger out of the shocked surprise. The stranger looked towards the bartender and shook their head.

"Not… not exactly" the stranger set their glass down on the counter worried that in a fit of passion they might break the glass. "I saw her in the Vytal festival tournament 2 years ago is all. I’m surprised that they managed to catch her at all”

"Oh yeah, I remember that tournament" He scratched his head as he struggled to bring the memory back into his mind, finally raising a finger as recognition dawned on him. "Oh yeah, she was the one who went berserk wasn't she?"

“Something like that” the stranger answered grabbing their weapons and equipment. “When will the train to Beacon arrive?”

“Now what might you want in that neck of the woods?” the bartender asked crossing his arms, he was right to be suspicious this patron of his had been in and out of the bar for 2 months straight, for someone like that to up and leave would be a bit confusing.

"Just want a front-row seat to that trial is all" the stranger answered. _Though knowing what she knows, it going to trial is very unlikely._

The bartender stared at his last remaining patron for a full minute before checking his watch. "The next train should be leaving in about 15 minutes"

The stranger swiftly stood up, downed their entire glass, took a fistful of lien, not even bothering to count it, and tossed it onto the bar. The bartender scooped them up quickly counted it.

“Hey you overpaid!" but the stranger was already out the bar doors. They took off as soon as their foot stepped outside, they didn’t have time to care about how much they owed they had a chance to catch an old friend. They splashed through puddles as they ran to catch their train and be out of here and in Vale proper as soon as possible.

The stranger did not want to miss this.

* * *

**Weiss**

Weiss was nervous, Winter had granted her the right to sit in and assist in the interrogation of Yang, good that was what she was after. The problem lay in what she was going to do with the time she’d been given. Ruby was out looking for Qrow with Blake while JN_R were tracking Pyrrha down. Weiss was operating Solo it seemed.

She sat in the dorm an open note pad on the desk in front of her and a pencil in her hand. She was trying to think up things to Ask Yang, how to help her with her case, some question that would make Yang’s crimes a Vale matter rather than an Atlas affair.

_But she’s trying to kill Ironwood_. That was the crux of the problem really, Yang was gunning for Ironwood and while Penny might withhold evidence for a bit she'd spill the beans eventually. Weiss let out a sigh and rested her head on the table. Dust she needed to sleep her eyes shifted to her bunk, to a box beneath her bed.

She’d left that box alone for months, but she knew it was there and she always kept it’s contents safe. No one outside her team knew about the box, not even team JN_R, really the box was the whole team's secret but her secret with it was her… habit. Weiss blew out a breath as she reached for the box.

"Ruby knows the big secret no point in hiding it anymore." She set the box on the desk opened the desk drawer and retrieved a bottle of dust-infused oil and a buffing rag. With delicate fingers, she opened the box and retrieved its contents, two immaculately maintained collapsible shotgun gauntlets.

_Ember Celica._ Weiss thought as she began to polish them and check for ungreased mechanisms, part of her knew this habit fed her unhealthy obsession with Yang but... _But there's no point in hiding it any longer, not from my team at least._

It had been a month or two since she'd last did this but her last run-through had been perfect and weapons like this always maintained themselves better than regular weapons. Dust-weapon-user theory and forge-master Mysticism were a subject often discussed but at the end of the day when a huntress forges their weapon, they leave a part of themselves in it and the weapon keeps in peak shape that much longer. Just as Weiss was precise and cutting so too was Myrtnaster.

Ember Celica was strong, tough, durable yet beautiful, simple yet ingenious, it provided a strong offense alongside a powerful defense. It was also damn deadly, and it was the only weapon within team RWBY’s arsenal that was easily hidden. It was a weapon you never saw coming.

_Fits Yang to a T_. Weiss thought, brushing over the outer plate with the rag banishing the dust and making the gold almost glimmer. She let the Gauntlet fall from her fingers and caught it in a black glyph floating it in front of her and inspecting the tiny parts of it.

"How did she do it?" Weiss mumbled as she fiddled with a screw than had come a centimeter lose. She was thinking about how Yang had eaten her gravity Glyph and she was thinking about what she'd seen right before the white flash, that last thing had been in her wracking her skull and kept her on edge. "The world's getting Crazy"

She turned the gauntlet over and peered into the gap at the ring’s center. Slowly hesitantly Weiss reached forward and put her hand into Ember Celica, she let the gravity glyph drop it. The bracelet hung loose for a second before the collapsible tech adjusted and locked onto Weiss’ wrist snuggly. She stared at the gold band around her wrist, Weiss’d never worn the bracelet once in all her months of cleaning and maintaining it. Wearing it almost felt wrong.

Weiss flicked her wrist and the Gauntlet unfolded from the bracelet enveloping her for arm and securing her wrist, it felt just a bit heavy for the Heiress but she wasn’t planning on fighting with it any time soon. Lifting her fist she gave a practice punch trying to cock the weapon, it instead folded back into its bracelet form. Weiss blew out a breath of frustration before unfolding it again and trying to cock the weapon once more, to no avail.

Finally, Weiss stood up, entered the same stance she'd seen Yang take and punched down sending the chambering mechanism shooting forward, before pulling back and locking it back into the proper place. Elation hit her and she lifted the weapon above her head in triumph.

** _Tap tap tap_ **

Weiss nearly jumped out of her skin as a gentle tapping echoed off the dorm window. She quickly hid the gauntlet behind her back and retrieved Myrtnaster with her dominate hand. She looked to the window to see a large black birth sitting on the window’s ledge.

** _Tap tap tap._ **

It pecked at the window as if it desired to enter the room. Weiss blew out an exasperated sigh and with the gauntlet still hidden behind her back she approached and opened the window for Qrow Branwen.

“How may I help you Qrow?” she asked with the barest hint of impatience in her voice. He’d revealed his ability to shift into a bird a year back and Weiss had chalked it up as his semblance though he Neither confirmed nor denied that fact. “Ruby’s looking for you”

The bird did not respond simply tilting its head giving her a quizzical look and attempting to peek around her back. Weiss turned to keep the shapeshifting drunkard’s eyes off the golden weapon on her wrist.

“You can return to human form now, theres no one here but me” the bird just blinked its red eyes at her. Weiss blew out a frustrated sigh she’d heard stories about this huntsman from her sister and had seen his little games firsthand, the man could be very childish some days.

Her scroll buzzed and she sheathed her rapier before reaching for it, ever careful to keep the gauntlet hidden. It was a message from Ruby.

“Ah here’s your niece now!” Weiss opened the message.

**R: Hi Weiss, finally found Qrow, he says he wants to show us Yang’s gear. Come when you can.**

Weiss stared at the screen letting her gauntleted arm fall by her side. The Blackbird made a small chirping noise. Dust she felt embarrassed, she let out a sigh.

"I can't believe I just let a random bird into my room" Weiss swore, face-palming herself in frustration. "Stupid stupid stupid”

"Well I wouldn't say ‘stupid'" came a feminine voice and Weiss' eyes shot open, her palm flying away from her face. In front of her stood a woman with dark red and black attire with an incredibly long sword at her hip and a Grimm-mask under her arm. Her face was porcelain pale and her eyes were a deep red while her dark hair cascaded behind her with black feathers poking out of it in regular intervals. She also had Yang’s face a face that was just as tired, if not more so than Yang’s.

“Nice gauntlet,” she murmured before rolling her wrist contemplatively, her armor made tiny clinking noises as her wrist rolled. “My daughter had one just like it”

“R-raven” Weiss stammered shocked to see Yang’s mother at all. Before raising her aura and drawing Myrtnaster

Raven smiled at that glancing at the drawn blade like it was a stick a child pretended was a sword. “Weiss. I see why my daughter likes you… we have a lot to talk about”


	40. Expectations and Investigations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Blake look at Yang's new toy, Raven speaks with Weiss and Yang's stuck in her dreams

**Blake**

Blake's hackles were up, not just because she was in the middle of an Atlas laboratory, not just because there were armed strangers throughout the building each shooting her a dirty look and not because they were short 1 teammate at the moment. All those were pretty bad but the thing sealed in dust enforced glass case in front of them was what had truly set her on edge.

"Yang's mask" Qrow spoke up gesturing to the Ursa bone in question, sealed next to it were 2 shotgun gauntlets sealed in similar, yet smaller cases of their own. "The Doc's said you could take a look at it if you wanted to, so long as you returned it to the cases when you were done"

Blake balked, Qrow had expected them to want to touch that mask? To handle it? She was having trouble being in the same room with it, had trouble just looking at it. The damn thing radiated malice and when she stared into the eye-holes she felt it staring back at her.

Qrow reached up and pressed a set of keys unlocking the doors of the container. The air that came out was cold and was just on the cusp of misting. Blake felt like jumping away from it like she'd done when she first met Ruby and Yang's Dog. That action was just her disdain for canines in general but this… this was primal.

“What is it made from?” Blake asked trying to ground her thoughts in solid reality, Ruby was silent just scowling at the mask.

Qrow knocked on the front of the mask making Blake and Ruby jerk back for fear of the thing just lunging out at biting at them.

“The Atlas Egg-heads don’t know, they figure its metal given that magnets work on it… most of the time. But getting samples from it has been a pain” he paused looking at a spot of dried blood on one of the lab tables. “A hell of a pain”

Tentatively Ruby reached towards the mask hand outstretched towards it, right as her finger was about to brush against the nose Blake caught her hand. Ruby gave her a confused look before Blake shook her head. Blake took a step forward, pulling Ruby back before touching her finger to the mask's forehead. It seemed to hum under her palm like an animal in a cage. Blake had touched her hands to many a Grimm mask before, a few had malice wrought into them but this was different… it was alive, only one mask was even close to this… only one.

“What have you gotten yourself into Yang?” she muttered. Everyone heard her say it but no one questioned her on it.

"Careful when lifting it," Qrow said unscrewing the lid on his flask, which by the sound of the sloshing was half empty. "Things got a habit of slipping from fingers."

Blake eyed the bloodstain and the recently polished floor. 

“How bad?” She asked brushing her fingers over the teeth, avoiding the tips.

“a few lost fingers, stabbed thigh” he tapped the glass containers with the new Ember Celica inside. “These don’t leave the containers, the nerds think they may have a round or two still inside.”

"Yikes," Ruby muttered.

“Thank goodness for Aura or else someone might have lost an arm” He mumbled taking a deep pull from the flask.

Blake lifted it, the mask felt heavy in her hands, very heavy, she was sure to keep a tight grip on it and leave her hands well away from the teeth that bordered it. The weight seemed to change and shift like a held bottle of water.

“How much does this thing Weigh?” Blake asked tilting the mask this way and that.

“Why do you ask?”

"Because-" Blake's Faunus ears flickered and she grew silent. Ruby raised an eyebrow. Qrow opened his mouth to speak but Blake shushed him. It was very faint. "Do you hear that?"

Ruby held her breath for an instant while Blake redistributed her aura. After a moment Ruby shook her head while Blake strained to hear the far-off sound. She moved towards where she thought she heard it only for it to fail to grow louder. She moved back to her original position, still holding the mask, no improvement. She swallowed before inching the mask closer to her face.

** _blake _ **

Blake jerked back letting the mask drop from her hands it bounced off the edge of the table and flew right at her thigh teeth side on coming, it hit her thigh and Blake’s shadow took the hit. The mask collapsed to the floor spinning slightly on the linoleum. Qrow and Ruby gave her a confused look, almost worried as they looked between her and the mask.

"It spoke," Blake said simply keeping in a ready stance just expecting the mask to pull more tricks on her. "It said my name"

“That’s a new one” Qrow grumbled, stooping down to look at the mask. “The scientists always said it was shockingly quiet”

“I heard it, I’m not crazy” Qrow’s eye twitched and Ruby let out a soft sigh.

Qrow opened his mouth to speak but Ruby cut him off wishing to avoid a fight, it took Blake a second to recognize the irony of the situation.

“I know Blake” Ruby said, stooping down onto her butt to get a better look at the mask without touching it. “It gives me the creeps, it’s not a normal thing.”

"Only seen one other mask like this before" Qrow admitted prodding the thing with tip of his shoe, moving it out from under the desk.

“Me too” Blake admitted getting another confused look from the only other people in the lab. She blew out a sigh. “back when I ran with the fang, I had a partner more of a mentor really”

“You’ve mentioned him before, back at mountain Glenn” Ruby recalled back to their first official mission, back to easier simpler times in their lives. “He became more violent so you distanced yourself from him right, you shouted something about that when you argued with Weiss back when Yang was first arrested”

“Dust Ruby do you have an eidetic memory or something?” Qrow asked incredulously before swearing as the mask slipped from his toe and was accidentally pushed completely underneath the lab table. “Damn it!”

“Yeah… his name was Adam Taurus”

If there was ever a time for background music to stop with a sudden screech this would be it. Ruby and Qrow both gave her a dumbfounded look with jaws slack. Blake felt horrendously exposed and the urge to flee from the room was ever-present, but she couldn't leave her pack leader alone here, she didn't fully trust Qrow and this mask was a dangerous thing. 

Without warning Ruby shivered and coughed, Blake was by her side in an instant, she was a poor caretaker but she could at least prevent Ruby from slipping and falling to the ground.

"Wow, you sure know how to pick'em" Qrow scoffed taking a swig from his hip flask. "First a grade-A terrorist and then… well, then Yang. Dust if I were into conspiracy theories you'd be a prime subject to focus on"

Blake felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment before Ruby slapped Qrow's shoulder with the back of her hand. She glared at him for a moment and the tension running through him seemed to dissipate.

"That was rude Uncle Qrow," she said in a low voice free of stutter. Qrow scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh.

“Right right. Sorry. That was uncalled for.” he reached under the table and took hold of the mask, as he pulled it forward it made a nails on a chalkboard like scrapping.

Blake winced at the noise, it hurt her ears all the more. _Is this thing just trying to make the worst of an already bad situation? This mask is nasty._

Qrow stared at the mask for a bit before gently setting it down on the center of the table. He took a deep breath before speaking as if internally wrestling with something. Blake had seen that before; the doubt affects how people hold themselves, second-guessing weakens the shoulders and ruins posture, makes the ceiling seem really interesting.

“You guys got any idea where Yang got this?” he asked not looking towards Blake or his niece. “Did she mention anything?”

Ruby leaned against one of the table's breathing coming in ragged and quick, she still had not fully recovered from whatever was ailing her and this constant movement and action weren't doing her any favors. Blake quickly grabbed a chair and despite Ruby's protests, plopped her leader down in it.

Only after Ruby was settled and had better control of her breathing did Blake turn towards Qrow.

“She didn’t say anything about it” Blake answered. “Why do you ask?”

“What did she mention?” Qrow retorted instead of answering. “anything at all”

That had Blake’s hackles up. _He’s fishing for information!_ She realized, resisting the urge to flatten her ears and go for Gambol shroud. _Dust I’m getting paranoid._

"…She just brought up how we betrayed her" Blake made sure to put herself between Ruby and Qrow, she didn't think he'd ever attack his niece but Ruby was weak right now and Blake couldn't help but want to keep herself between any perceived dangers and her pack leader.

“It’s all she ever really brings up”

Qrow let his hand fall limply down next to his hip and he breathed out a sigh, lifted his flask and thought better of it.

"Yeah… she's a bit one-track these days" he finally turned and raised an eye-brow to see where Blake had placed herself but left it be for now. "but the Atlas idiots claim that she was seen chatting with you throughout the fight and in the leadup to it… I don't think she was just prattling on about your backstabbing Blake"

The air was tense and at the cusp of Blake's hearing she could just make out tinning laughter. She turned and the Mask seemed to be grinning at her and Qrow. She lifted Gambol Shroud and pointed its barrel right at the mask's forehead.

“Yang said a lotta strange things it’s hard to sort it all out, what are you looking for?” she cocked the gun.

Qrow wiped his face with his hand, clearly tired. "Don't shoot the damn mask it won't work. Anything really, just anything, why she was in Vale, where she's been. If she liked what Ozpin's done with the place fuckin anything.

“She called Ozpin a w-w-wuh-wizard” Ruby said quietly.

Blake figured it was innocuous enough to keep Qrow off the scent of what Yang had been planning to do, make him convinced that she’d done nothing but ramble on chaotically. She expected him to become more relaxed maybe even laugh, but as she looked at him she was greeted with a completely different sight. Qrow was tense, his teeth gritted, his hand twitching and his stance widened, he looked ready to swear.

“So… Ozpin is a wizard then?” Blake would have laughed at that sentence were it not for EVERYTHING THAT HAD COME CRASHING DOWN ON HER THESE PAST 2 YEARS!

“He would look good in a pointing hat” Ruby chuckled baffling both Qrow and Blake with how easily she was handling this. The chuckling continued until she coughed in the middle, she coughed again till it was a wracking affair. Blake started to move towards her when Ruby fell out of the chair and onto the floor.

Ruby’s head smacked against the ground. Blake was by her side in an instant checking her head, no bleeding.

“Ruby!” Qrow moved towards her and Blake’s instincts took over, she pointed her gun at Qrow and hissed. He jerked back raised his hands. It took Blake a second to recognize what she’d just done, slowly she lowered her gun.

"Sorry" she muttered waving him over to look at Ruby's head. Qrow cautiously stooped down to examine Ruby's skull, same as Blake. Ruby's eyes fluttered open. "Ruby are you okay?"

“f-f-f-f-f-f-fine!” Ruby cursed under her breath and tried to rise. “gotta do this right”

"Get her back to the dorms, she needs rest," Qrow said with a certain finality that was not to be questioned. Blake was inclined to agree with him, she tucked her arms under Ruby's legs and lifted her, Dust she felt tiny and small in the Faunus' arms. Ruby beat her hands weakly against Blake's chest but eventually, she relented.

The trio was out of the lab in a flash and on the table, the mask just grinned at them.

* * *

**Weiss**

"You're lying," Weiss said unwilling to lower her weapon, keeping the point centered on Raven's chest. "That's insane"

Raven seemed unafraid of the rapier pointed right at her chest and simply walked around the room analyzing every aspect she could, almost like she was searching for something. Her fingers brushed against the dusty Achievimen poster. She grunted as she saw it.

“The longer you’re in this business the more insane the world becomes” she muttered prodding the sheets of the various bunks, smirking at their structural insanity. “This place hasn’t changed much since Yang left”

Raven took a step towards Weiss, looming over her ignoring the Rapier point pressing against her immense aura. She leaned forward till Weiss retracted the blade. Raven was just showing some form of dominance, trying to intimidate Weiss. It was all a game to the Schnee, a game she intended to win.

Once the Blade was retracted Raven smirked and sat herself down in the desk-chair nearby.

"You have a fire in you, just like my daughter," she said with genuine praise in her tone. "I see why she likes you."

"I don't see why she likes you!" Weiss spat back, not willing to let this woman's praise cloud her judgment.

“I’m her mother” Raven retorted her eyebrow raised daring Weiss to say what was on her head.

“No! Summer Rose was Yang’s Mother. You just gave birth to her and dropped her from your life.”

Raven stood up suddenly glaring down at Weiss with a dark fluttering sound echoing in the small room, her semblance no doubt. Weiss didn’t flinch away, she’d seen how Raven had hurt Yang and she was unwilling to forgive a slight like that, Weiss had little patience for poor parents.

Raven barred her teeth breathed in a hissing breath and in a surprisingly pleasant tone laughed. A smiling laugh. Her laugh died down and a sad smile remained on her face as she looked at the atlessian with a new form of respect.

“Summer is her mother” Raven admitted. “She was my best friend.” She looked around the room, resting her finger on the remaining golden gauntlet. “I did fail her then, but I’m not going to fail her now.”

“You’re failing her now? Then why are you telling me all this?” Weiss asked incredulously, this madness about Ozpin and this Salem woman was insane. “What do you need from me?”

Raven did not look up from the gauntlet as she shifted its weight under her finger.

“If Yang was free right now what would you do?” she asked fingers still on the gauntlet.

“Do you enjoy dodging questions and being cryptic?” Weiss retorted.

"No, but considering all the information I've given you, a little quid-pro-quo shouldn't be an insane request." Raven's finger left the gauntlet and she sat down once more legs crossed in front of her "If Yang was free right now, what would you do?"

Weiss was silent, and she pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to stifle the torrent of confusing ideas racing through her brain. This Raven woman had given Weiss an insane amount of information regarding the existence of an ancient evil named Salem, said that Ozpin was a reincarnating wizard and that the Grimm served this Salem woman. She also brought up how Ozpin had been at war with Salem for generations and over time had ‘spent’ the lives of naïve huntsmen and huntresses just to keep her at bay.

Weiss was used to being lied to in her life, she could spot a liar easily enough, her father was an excellent manipulator and liar. Raven was either the best liar Weiss had encountered or was telling the truth, her truth at least.

_But she’s not telling me everything_. Weiss mused noting how this dark woman had been sparse with her details and left gaps like how this Salem woman has been around so long, what she was and why Ozpin hadn't yet stopped her.

Those thoughts were only serving to keep Weiss’ mind off the question, and what she saw right before Ruby’s white-flash consumed everything. That strange thing she saw, that she was half convinced she didn’t see.

“If Yang was free right now…” Weiss considered. “I’d get her away from Ironwood”

Raven tilted her head in a curious glance. “Why?”

Not only was Raven not telling Weiss the whole story but she was also analyzing her, watching her every movement and tick, searching for a weakness, studying pauses building an internal profile in her mind of how to fight Weiss… How to kill Weiss.

“You should know why” Weiss retorted, hesitant to expose any weakness to this predatory woman. “You’re the one who gave her this suicide mission”

Weiss didn’t dare say that mission’s purpose out loud, although if she was being spied on already the point would be moot, fraternizing with a known criminal in the manner she was interacting with Raven was bad enough but she wasn’t going to throw Yang into the pit.

"I didn't give her this mission," Raven said calmly her face giving nothing away. Weiss stared at her waiting for her to go on, Raven left her in silence. "Why?"

"Because she's going to get herself killed" Weiss retorted, wondering who had sent Yang on this damn mission then. "Because she's got no chance here because her doing this will ruin her! that's a line she cannot cross!" Weiss had poured passion into her words, deep-seated fears, and frustration with the world and Raven was giving her NOTHING! The woman was stone-faced and only gave a non-committal nod in response to what she'd just heard. Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She was about to speak when Raven interrupted her

“You wouldn’t apologize?” the question was sincere and Weiss’ word’s stumbled.

“I buh what?” Raven didn’t seem amused by the display, she had that look on her face that reminded Weiss too much of her Father.

"If Yang were free now would you apologize to her?" there was no humor in her voice just a cold edge that made Weiss' mind conjure images of that enormous dust sword slicing flesh. "Not for this arrest but for selling her out, two years ago?"

Weiss looked away in shame, the memory of that little slip up hurting her immensely every time she remembered it. She thought she'd done the right thing back then, she thought she was serving her friend’s best interest.

“I thought I was helping her” Weiss muttered. “I thought we could bring her back.”

"You could have gone with her" Raven said flatly, Weiss' eyes shot up and she stared at the woman who stared back before shrugging as if the whole questionnaire was pointless, to begin with.

“You Xiao-long women drive me up a wall” she muttered. “Is that why you told me all this? To drive me insane?”

Raven smirked at that and pulled out her dust blade, the weapon was enormous and forged from steel infused with dust, very difficult to make and yet immensely powerful, her other hand retrieved a small whetstone and she set about sharpening the blade.

“If that was enough to drive you mad, I’d have to have a discussion with my daughter regarding her taste in women” she joked though a violent threat hung off her words. “Weakness like that is not something that I can easily tolerate”

Weiss summoned her glyph blade to her right hand, it took a bit of aura to burst it into existence but she manifested it nonetheless.

“Is that why you left her?” Weiss sneered 110% done with this woman’s prying her questions her maybe maybe-not lies. “Only to pick her up when she was at her lowest point where you could take advantage?”

The whetstone stopped on the blade it seemed to rest against the weapon for an uncomfortably long time. Weiss considered that she may have overstepped and considered the fact that if Yang was dangerous than her mother might be even more so and Weiss had let her proper manners leave her in this dangerous situation.

_Who cares?_ She thought with anger remembering the feeling of her father’s hand across her face, the swiftly-hidden tears in her sister’s eye and the determined ignorance found only at the bottom of a bottle in her mother’s hands. Weiss had spat in her father’s face, she wouldn’t suffer bad parenting lightly.

_Regardless of the fact she could probably kill me._

Raven put the whetstone away with delicate fingers, leaving her giant blade naked it’s handle tight in her grip, she took a deep breath and let out a whistling sigh. There was no hate in her eyes as she looked down at Weiss. The analytical face stopped and she looked strange as she looked at Weiss.

"It wasn't my choice," she said quietly. "Yang deserved a better mother. I did what I could"

That strange look finally clicked with Weiss, it was the same look that was on her own mother's face when the drink would wear off and lucidity would return to her, it was the look of a parent's regret.

“Understand this Schnee” Raven said turning her back to the ex-heiress. “No one controls my daughter. She is as stubborn as her father. But he would have done anything for Summer Rose.”

Weiss was quiet for a long time, mulling over the meaning of Raven’s words. “You’re going to bust her out aren’t you?”

“Am I?” Raven asked back, before lifting her head as some sound Weiss hadn’t heard reached the older woman’s ears. She nodded to Weiss before giving her sword a long swing eliciting a flinch from the Atlessian. “Just think on it Ms.Schnee”

From the sword swing, a gaping red portal formed and before Weiss could stop her Raven stepped into it and vanished along with the portal. Weiss was left there alone in the room with half of Ember Celica strapped to her wrist, mind filled with too many damn questions.

And then the door burst open and her leader was dragged inside.

“Ruby!” Weiss shrieked seeing her unconscious leader being lifted by Qrow and Blake. “What happened?”

“Nothing mom I’m fine” Ruby mumbled shivering.

"She's suffering from exhaustion and is refusing to rest" Blake chided, setting her team leader on Weiss' easier to reach the bed.

“I need to…” Ruby mumbled pushing at the covers Blake threw on her. “I need… I need.”

With a flick of her wrist, Weiss created a gravity glyph on the back of Ruby's head that gently pulled their leader's head down on the soft pillow. She briefly glared at Weiss, Weiss glared back.

“You need to get some sleep” Weiss shot back, uncowed by Ruby’s silver glare. “You’ve been running non-stop since Vacuo, you need to rest”

Ruby started to strain against the grav glyph but only lifted an inch. Weiss raised an eyebrow and gestured to the red-heads predicament.

“See, if you were 100%, Dust if you were only 50%, you could beat that Glyph” Ruby stuck her tongue out in response, Weiss promptly ignored that.

“I can… beat…” Ruby’s eyes started to flutter until exhaustion finally struck her down. Her breathing came out normal slowing down as sleep overtook her. Blake let out an almost equally exhausted sigh as she sat down on Yang’s old bed, her eyes never leaving her leader.

“What’s happening to her?” Blake asked the room, it was a question on all their minds, Aura exhaustion was no laughing matter but this was different, Ruby was just out of it.

_And it happened right after those lights came out of her eyes_. Weiss thought, turning quickly towards the Adult in the room.

"What's happening to Ruby," she asked with a growl towards Qrow Branwen, Blake's query was just her thinking aloud while Weiss' was directed. Qrow rubbed the back of his neck before looking down at Ruby. "You know don't you?"

“Might be best if Ruby heard this first” he muttered grabbing a chair, before unscrewing his flask. “nice bracelet” he murmured eyeing Ember Celica on Weiss’ wrist.

“You know what that white flash was?” Weiss didn’t bother hiding Ember Celica as she crossed her arms leaving the golden wrist-shotgun exposed and in the open. Qrow just gave her a nod lifting his flask to take a pull.

_The Branwen signature dramatics! Atlas help me if I ever hear it again I’ll vomit_.

Weiss turned to Blake uncrossing her arms and removing Ember Celica from her wrists. Blake gave her the once over but said nothing, returning to her taciturn state. Weiss grabbed a comb and some make-up before disappearing into the Bathroom, after about 15 minutes of prep-work she was out and the dark bags beneath her eyes were gone and her hair was perfectly tied back with the silver crown edging the base. Blake and Qrow both raised an eyebrow at her new attire.

“When Ruby Wakes up” Weiss began pointedly ignoring their looks. “Tell her that I managed to get Winter to let me speak with Yang alongside the rest of the Atlas contingent. It should take a bit for me to reach her leaving her plenty of time to rest, send me anything you think I should ask”

Blake nodded while Qrow continued to beat sobriety like a champ.

* * *

**Yang**

The world was on fire around Yang, hunks of burning metal and fractured lights were strewn about her as she stood on a cracked and dented metal stage. Her arms felt as heavy as they had in real life and she felt exhausted beyond belief. The exhaustion was clouding her ability to fully comprehend everything around her. It took her what felt like an hour to recognize where she was

The Ruins of the Amity Colosseum.

Ghosts of fighters fought back and forth along with the ruins the sound of Echoing gunfire mashing with the ringing of steel on steel. The sounds were half there half-real like ghosts aping the sounds they made in life. It threatened to overwhelm Yang, her paranoia being kicked into overdrive by the anxiety of a possible threat coming to strike at her from an unforeseen direction. She whipped out with her hand clawing at an assailant she thought was coming from behind, as she struck a chain clinked and clanged the echoes still sounding strange.

Yang looked at the chains and followed their path expecting them to end up on her wrists but as her eyes traveled its length they came to rest on her neck.

_How did I not feel that_? She thought, pawing at the chain, until something suddenly and forcefully jerked her forward, pulling her along by the chain. Her eyes shot to the end of the chains and saw a Beowulf was gnawing at the middle of her restraints pulling her onward.

“Hey drop it!” Yang yelled, Wrapping the chain around her wrist and pulling tightly, the Beowulf pulled back snarling. Yang stumbled for a second before firmly planting her feet and yanking the chain with a mighty heave ripping some teeth from the lupin skull.

The Grimm snarled as black goo poured from its defanged face. Yang snarled back and the thing at the other end of her chain roared. The Beowulf's ears perked upon its head and it looked back into the smokey darkness where an Ursa minor emerged. Yang just stared at the small creature she was locked to, it lifted a paw and struck at the Beowulf, the Wolf jerked back before lashing forward fitting the Ursa minor's head in its toothless maw.

“Hey!” Yang shouted yanking the chain once again successfully popping the puny Ursa from the toothless jaws of death. “Fuck-off!”

The Ursa minor flew through the air till it landed in Yang's arms, she held it unafraid that it might attack her before she noticed the sounds of battle had ceased and instead the low murmur of growls began to resonate through the ground. In the thick smoke, she saw them emerge, slowly at first then faster, No! there were just more of them. Yang took a step back keeping her eyes on the Grimm stalking towards her. the beasts had tongues lolling and snapping beaks some were the average Grimm but many even Yang struggled to recognize.

She ran, she turned and pushed past her exhaustion ran like hell itself was hounding her, it likely was. The Ursa minor seemed to become smaller and smaller as she held it in her arms maintaining a frantic pace. Her aura seemed to ignore her call bucking at her usage, she was tired and running on her muscles alone.

_Damn good thing that’s not an issue._ She sneered ignoring the burning in her legs as she pushed further and further through the ruin of Amity. She ran and ran never looking back until her feet touched grass and the slavering sounds were silent. She let out a sigh of relief and rubbed her sweat beaded forehead on the puny Ursa she clung to, it was pitiful now about the size of a teddy-bear but still, she held it.

The Ursa looked up at her and Yang looked down at it, and couldn’t muster the hate she normally felt for the creatures of Grimm, she smiled at the little monster and it bared its fangs back. The fur felt soft and warm and Yang stroked it calming the excited creature and herself. Yang started to murmur a song she used to sing to Ruby and Summer you to sing to her.

"don't you worry about the dark…" she began lulling the ever-shrinking beast in the crook of her arm.

**_“Yaaaaannnnnnnggggggg!!!!!” _**Echoed in the thunder above her and Yang looked up half recognizing the voice when a sudden flare of light flashed over her and in an instant, the weight in her arms was gone with only dust floating away in the wind.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!" Yang screamed holding her ash-covered hands her breathes coming in short and clipped, she couldn't keep it safe, she failed failed failed!!! Stupid stupid stupid!

Yang fell to her knees fingers digging in her hair torment wracking her brain. Then the noise she'd been dreading hit her senses, the sound of heels clicking on the packed earth. Yang looked up and saw the black heels before traveling further to finally see her mother looking down on her. Yang pulled her hair in frustration and regret.

"I'm sorry mom" she wailed. "I messed up I failed, I was so stupid, I was too weak! Please don't leave me again"

Tears black and viscous were dripping from her face in them she saw Ruby’s terrified face, she saw a missing hole where her sister’s right eye had been. That sight only made Yang weep harder.

"You did fail," her mother said flatly. "You made a foolish decision and executed a stupid plan of attack"

Yang dug her fingers into the dirt, feeling the rocks bite at her unprotected nails and knuckles. She deserved this, she deserved her dream’s admonishments.

"But you are not weak Daughter-mine" Yang looked up quickly more confused than hopeful, Raven removed her mask and stooped to raise Yang to her feet. "You messed up Yang, you need to remember that! But you are not weak!” Raven pointed her finger in Yang’s face to accentuate the points. “Luck wasn’t your ally”

"Mom…" Yang wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, the ashes caked on her knuckles and cheek. It took her a second to regain her footing in and try to distinguish dream from reality, lucid dreaming could be a pain some days. "… You're here?"

“I’ve been busy of late, I couldn’t risk expending the aura for this trip until now. I’m sorry”

Yang let out a small chuckle. "Raven Branwen apologizing for this must be a dream"

Raven smirked at her before smacking the back of her head. Yang winced grabbing her bruised scalp, but the physical admonishment felt relaxing grounding her in reality.

"Where's Ironwood?" she asked rubbing the back of her head.

"On his way to oversee your transfer, and to speak with Ozpin" Raven slashed Yureru through the air and a miniature beacon tower formed in the weapon's wake. She gestured to the top of the tower. "A meeting between him and Ozpin will be held here likely will last between an hour to an hour and a half before he boards the elevator and travels down" The illusory beacon rose up until Raven was pointing at the underside of the tower. "Here to look in on and possibly retrieve his pet project before returning to his capital ship"

Yang's brow furrowed as she thought through the timeline, there were small gaps but for the most part, Ironwood was either inaccessible or surrounded by incredibly skill partners, including but not limited to another headmaster and a Maiden.

“Not many options at our disposal” Yang cursed the dream world shifting to hardened sharp rock in mimicry of her frustration. She turned towards her mother, but Raven was silent, this was Yang’s op she was in charge, Raven was just here to facilitate it. “And the options we do have involve fighting against some of Remnant’s strongest huntsmen or the fall maiden. I guess we could cause a distraction that would force them to draw Pyrrha away from Ironwood…”

Yang’s mind instantly turned to a Grimm incursion, like the breach but she tossed that idea aside, the dude they press-ganged into the op _Mr.Green_ might go in for that sort of stuff but she wasn’t going to spend civilian lives.

_What else could draw Pyrrha out… _She thought her dreamscape cracking around her before suddenly shifting into a liquid state and reforming pristine and shining.

“Mom I think I have an idea” she Grinned almost giggling at the simplicity of it. “Do you think Torchwick and Neo could help spring me out of here”

"In all honesty, the pair have been itching to pay you back," Raven said matching her daughter's grin. "But I thought you'd prefer something less bombastic"

"Not this time mom, This needs to be big, something Ironwood or Ozpin can't cover-up, this needs to be a spectacle with lights and a rocking beat" She brought her hands in the air feeling adrenaline pumping in her veins. “We need to get Ironwood alone, and Pyrrha away from Ironwood."

Yang paused for dramatic effect though she knew Raven had no doubt come to the same answer she had.

“So we’ll give the Fall maiden the perfect bait” she jabbed her thumb into her clavicle. “Me!”


	41. Cracks in the Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang gets a visitor, Raven and Roman poke about and Weiss steels her nerves

**The Stranger**

They were in the ruins right where the stranger knew they’d be. It was one of the failed settlements of Vale nothing close to mountain Glenn’s size but it’s loss, though it involved fewer casualties, was tragic. It was called Red Moor and it was where the Faunus terrorist cell had decided to roost. The action made sense though the structure had been breached once there were no more humans the Grimm just let it be focusing on sweeter prey, the defenses were easily patched, and a base of operations could be maintained.

Still, decent security was always a must, which was why the Stranger was disappointed to find one sentry asleep head resting on the pike he was leaning on. It always amazed the stranger how competent a person could be at sleeping while standing up. A swift flick to the nose woke the Faunus up right quick. They shook their head in shock gazing around wildly before seeing the Stranger grabbing their pike and presenting it in what they hoped was an intimidating manner.

“Who are you?” they squeaked, the stranger looked them up and down noticing the usual White-fang get up but unable to spot any ears or tails that might indicate their animal relation. The stranger guessed mouse based on the high-pitched squeak. “State your business”

“Relax I’m just here to see your boss” The Stranger replied trying desperately to keep their annoyance out of their tone, it had been a long arduous march. “I’m sure he’s expecting me.”

The Sentry gave the stranger a wary glance and seemed prepped to try and use that pig stick on them, for which the stranger would have laid this poor sod out for the attempt, but cooler heads seemed to prevail. The Sentry raised the pike, fumbled with his scroll for a bit before making a call.

"Ummmm…. Yes, sir… there's a human here to see you… uh-huh, yeah I saw them coming a mile away sir… yes… they say you're expecting them… you are?" loud shouting could be heard through the other end of the scroll drawing a smirk from the stranger. "yessir right away sir I’m sorry sir.”

The Guard closed the scroll and shook a little before returning his gaze to the stranger. “Umm Commander Taurus will see you now he’s in the clock tower”

“spotted me a mile away?” The Stranger sneered stepping past the sentry. “I know you guys can see in the dark, but I didn’t know that you could see through your own eyelids”

The interior of the camp was well structured, a couple of tents and storage boxes were carefully organized throughout the compound. Newly added anti-Grimm barriers were locked into choke points of the town spaced far enough apart that a lithe humanoid could slip through while a larger Beowulf or creep would have trouble cramming through. The Fangers were beaten and bruised and they were eyeing the interloper as the Stranger passed through their defenses not giving a damn what they thought.

Though to be fair the Stranger did look terrible now, rags were draped over their frame with a grey scarf wrapped around their shoulder and head, their hair had gotten more than a bit unruly in these last few years but that never bothered the stranger.

_Maybe I’ll pick up one of these Grimm-masks considering how popular they’re becoming_. The Stranger thought with a boisterous laugh, they looked to their left and though they saw an old friend sneering back at them, that image only existed for a moment in the periphery of the stranger's vision. The Stranger sighed. _They aren’t coming back._

Adam Taurus was sitting on a cot, not a throne or a stone slab just a metal-framed worn out cot, his shirt off his frame and her Grimm-mask still affixed to his face, there were a dozen scars crisscrossing his torso and his lean muscles were taught beneath his skin, his sword resting lazily on his bed frame. He looked the part of a Ronin king and no doubt was considered to be quite attractive.

_Such a pity I don’t swing that way_. The Stranger thought, looking over the tired revolutionary. Adam Taurus said nothing to the Stranger when they entered the room simply stared analyzing them, no doubt remembering their previous interactions. Disgust was clear on the lower half of his face as the scent of human reached his nostrils.

“Well- “the Stranger began before Adam Cut them off

“I should kill you myself” he stated flatly coldly _rudely._ "The last time you came into my camp with a proposition it nearly brought ruin to the Vale branch, killed my standing. And you don't have a maiden in your corner as you did then."

"- this is a nice place" the Stranger finished their sentence gazing around the room, they were lying, of course, this camp and this room were pits but the stranger had slept in worse pits. "And it would look too good if you killed a guest, and I doubt my benefactor would appreciate the treatment"

Adam said nothing, but at least he didn't grab his sword and try to disembowel the Stranger so that was a bonus. Instead, he reached beneath the cot, retrieved a box of shotgun slugs and slowly loaded them into the shotgun portion of _Wilt and Blush._

"Have you considered my proposal?" The stranger asked leaning lazily against the wall. Adam stopped mid-load.

"I told you once I'll tell you again, the White Fang is not a mercenary group, it is a tool for revolution" he spat the old tired story in The Stranger's face, with more rabid fury than the last time he said it. "And yet you once again come in here thinking MY white fang are some attack dog you can sic on anyone you wish." Adam pointed to a small scorpion tattoo on his right shoulder. "I lost good Faunus to your cause, many good Faunus”

“Hey, I didn’t kill them” the Stranger brushed his speech aside like it was irrelevant, every muscle on the Bull Faunus’ Frame tensed, and the dust-enhanced metal creaked under his tight grip. Adam Taurus couldn’t stand humans at the best of times and this dirty bedraggled human of ill repute was getting fast on his nerves.

The Stranger smirked at the clear fury boiling below the surface.

"Are you pissed?" the Stranger asked their voice oozing with sadistic joy. "Good you should be! I might not have killed the people in your pack but I’m here offering you the chance to get vengeance on those who did”

The tension released from Adam’s clenched form and at last there was curiosity on his face, the Stranger grinned.

“You don’t get much signal out here, do you?” the Stranger picked up a shotgun slug twiddling it between their fingers. “Someone just got dropped into a Vale Dungeon Cell… someone who’s bounty YOU put out is still inordinately high, someone who owes us both for the destruction of our packs.”

Adam could guess what the Stranger was going to say next but at this point, he was just interested in how they were going to deliver it. 

“Yang Xiao Long is in a cell at Beacon” The Stranger finished. “And the Fall Maiden has been sent to keep watch over her”

Now that was the icing on the cake, Adam didn’t so much smile as let his frown lessen, for the past two years Pyrrha Nikos had been hounding the White fang driving them further and further into the wilds and breaking down any who held sympathy for them.

“Will **She** bring any help?” He asked grabbing his coat from the cots post and locking it to him. The Stranger scratched their chin in thought **Salem** had a stake in Beacon's fall and who held the mantle of the fall maiden, but since the end of the Vytal Festival, she seemed unconcerned. When the Stranger delivered the News, she was at first furious but after a week or so the fury just vanished leaving the Stranger even more frightened.

“She’s been waiting for Beacon to fall for quite some time, I’m sure she’ll send someone higher ranked than me to keep an eye on it”

Adam seemed unsatisfied with that answer, but he was a beggar now not a revolutionary and beggars can’t be choosers. Adam retrieved Wilt from his bed and slammed her into Blush’s sheath, his only answer was a curt nod.

_Good enough for me_. The Stranger grinned back. _The old plan is back on schedule._

* * *

**Yang**

Yang was awake, and as soon as her eyes shot open her mind was already racing, she was so excited she could almost hear her heart thundering in her chest. The elations were threatened as she reminded herself that she was being watched, VERY closely.

_Right down to pupil dilation_. Yang closed her eyes grabbed her precious hair and quickly sat up in the bed making her breath even heavier keeping her heart rate high, muttering and shrieking to herself, putting on a good performance for the Atlas and Vale investigators keeping her under the microscope.

She did everything, she beat the pillow she cursed at her chains and pulled them tight she even thumped herself on the head, anything to hide the joy she was feeling.

_I can’t give them even a hint at what’s coming_. She thought, suppressing a sneer. Eventually, the tantrum was done, her hair a complete mess she let out a sigh and began her morning workout routine. It was good work; tiring work and it kept her mind distracted and the eyes watching her bored.

Yang was halfway through her first set of sit-ups when the door slid open and Ciel Soleil calmly entered in as always saying nothing. The video she'd left on was still playing on a loop and Yang gave it the usual annoyed curious look. Ciel started typing on her scroll occasionally glancing at Yang as the video finally shifted. It was a montage that Yang did not think she'd get to see.

It was clipped from the Vytal festival, each strike Yang had shot out, missed and been struck by. Yang's brow furrowed as she watched her younger self fight. Her fighting style had shifted so much since then she almost chuckled at her private best-of slide show, She had more misses than she liked, her aura distribution needed work and she was definitely not playing the psychological game. But still her base style remained, Taiyang Xiao-longs aggressive hand to hand fighting style, the Sun-dragon style not yet refined.

Yang watched with a slight feeling of joy and nostalgia until a nagging realization came upon her, she knew how they were going to finish it.

_Damn them and their stupid fuckin games._ Yang cursed in her head as the Mercury fight started to play.

“You having fun?” she asked and was taken aback to see Ciel grin back at her. _The hell?_ The brief confusion was registered on the giant projection screen. Yang watched her form, not giving Ciel the satisfaction of looking away from the carnage to come, her attacks were well-formed but as she finally re-watched the match, she could see that Mercury was indeed holding back.

_No shit_. She thought, watching him hesitate at the wrong points, fail a feint and telegraph his strikes hard. The tells were mute and you'd have to have fought him to really see them, but they were there. _And I can’t unsee them, damn now I feel stupid._

Yang blew out a breath she couldn’t chastise herself she was naïve then and was just a pawn in someone else’s game, but then her fist Struck Mercury’s knee and the crack resounded. Yang expected to feel mirth, or disappointment, one of the extreme emotions but the most she felt was numb and frustrated. This was a sad little story that was BS. As such after the blow was struck all she did was scoff at Mercury’s little play.

“You know his legs were Cybernetic right?” she asked bored out of her gourd. Ciel merely raised an eyebrow but said nothing. “Yeah while I have your attention, his partner their Emerald had an Illusion semblance that made me think he was kicking right at my head.”

Yang dug her finger into her temple to accentuate her point, as had become her habit since she started explaining this BS. “But none of you checked up on that did you? out of curiosity what the hell did you think happened to both of them after they bounced from the Festival”

That actually had been on Yang’s mind for a bit and she was unsure what the answer was, officially immediately after Mercury had been shipped back home to be with his family. It was Ursa shit, but Yang had the inside track on that what did the Atlas idiots think happened after good ole Merc didn't show up? Ciel's fingers raced along her scroll before a news report appeared before her.

**Transport shuttle crashes in Grimm territory, Vytal festival contestants among the missing passengers**. It read in big bold letters and Yang couldn't help but roll her eyes.

_Of course, they thought of everything_. She grumbled to herself. _And they took down a transport shuttle with it, classy._

Of all the things Yang regretted, and there were a lot, killing that Bitch Cinder was not one of them… well, she didn't regret it in the long run, killing her had freaked her the heck out in the short term.

“Anyone besides me find THAT at all suspicious?” Somedays Yang felt like the only sane person in a world filled with madness. Ceil gave her no answer and simply stared, but Yang was on a roll and just rolling with it. “You Recording this Ceil Soleil?”

A nod was her only answer.

_Good at least I can go back and look over this when I’m done._ Yang mused as she prepared herself for a rant. _Maybe I’ll break This Atlas drone’s delusions._

“It’s funny how That crash happened before Mercury could be questioned, and how Emerald just up and vanished immediately after” _though that was more my fault than theirs’s._ “Heck while you’re at it, it might help you to look into a certain headless corpse found about a week later in the warehouse district”

Yang grinned her savage grin. “That Corpse was the one who put the last fall maiden in a coma and was gonna destroy all of Beacon, but are you people grateful, are you ever. I get thrown in jail helping you assholes and I still put my neck on the line getting a dangerous terrorist off the streets. Now Beacon is sitting under martial law of some other nation and Vacuo ain't too far behind."

Yang stood up her fists shaking the adrenaline coursing through her veins now. "And for some reason, I’m the villain of the festival, not those assholes, not Atlas for taking advantage of this situation, not the Girl who didn’t want to get her head cut off by a dictatorial military led by a cold-hearted cyborg!”

The dust-chains creaked against Yang’s flexing wrist and she just stared at Ceil who stared back and grinned, a wolfish predatory grin that Yang had seen too often before. Ceils blue eyes blinked and were replaced with pink and brown eyes.

_So that’s my out_. Yang thought amused; her mother had been light on the details for how she was going to get busted out but if Neo was here that means it was already in action. _But I can’t really get close to her._

Then the idea struck her as 'Ceil' pressed a button on her scroll and the fight with team RWB began playing again. Yang blew out an angry puff of air through her nose and charged right at Neo, her shoulder dislocating as before but this time, 'Ceil reached through the bars, firmly gripped Yang's shirt and punched her in the face.

The hit was hard and furious knocking her to the ground with the aura focused strike. The surprise had to look real, so Yang guessed the sucker punch was pretty good on Neo’s part but still it threw her for a loop as she laid on the cell floor with her nose bleeding and broken.

_What the hell?_ She thought slowly sitting up and using her aura to relocate her shoulder, it still hurt like hell to do that, when she looked back ‘Ceil’ was gone. _Wasn’t neo supposed to give me something, a signal or-_

Yang felt a sharp pain in her chest and held on only to feel a poking sensation right where Neo had socked her, she stifled her excitement and marched over to the bed wiping her nose of the leaking blood before palming the contraband by needling it through her clothes keeping it hidden from prying eyes. She didn’t need to look at it to know what it was, it hummed in her palm.

_Thunder dust_. A personal favorite of hers with an explosive power when the right amount of aura was focused through it. With a flick of her finger, the Dust shard was crammed between her wrist and her manacles.

Yang spat out a globule of blood and continued to play up the tired inmate but on the inside, she was practically dancing as her scheme was set in motion. She did wonder how the rest of it was progressing.

* * *

**CCT tower**

"How long?" The Woman sitting next to Roman asked for what felt like the hundredth time that day. He rolled his eyes as his fingers raced quickly across the CCT keyboard. Roman Torchwick was a thief by trade, always had been since he could stand on two feet, he'd ran almost every form of theft, burglary, insurance fraud, mugging, forgery, catfishing, and just plain old robbery. Roman had done and seen it all, but hacking was still a skill that irked him slightly. He was a fair hacker don't get him wrong, but he was no doctor Watts and all the annoyance from the job came from clients.

Although this client was not one who would take ‘would you please shut up I’m working here’ very lightly, as reasonable as she was.

"Still five minutes Gorgeous," he said through gritted teeth, eliciting a blank stare from his new employer in crime.

They were both in disguise, courtesy of Neo's excellent makeup skills, Roman was in a drab grey hoodie with his cheeks touched up giving him a gaunt appearance, his hair was turned into a frizzy mess and his precious hat was gone. Raven had switched her normal get up for some Golden Vacuo duds and put light blue colored contact lenses over her blood-red irises.

Raven turned away from the screen and leaned against the desk they’d been working at, Roman suspected she was doing her best to relax while he worked on finding the deeply embedded program without alerting the security programs to its presence.

“Dust you suck and with the whole nonchalance thing, don’t you?” he said with a smirk desperately jonesing for a cigar right now. Raven eyed him more curiously than with violent intent, or that might have just been the fact that her eyes weren’t blood red anymore, Roman wasn’t quite sure. “You aren’t exactly relaxing, your tense as hell, you’ve done covert shit before, right?”

Raven chuckled and took the opportunity to converse with the former crime lord. “You sound a lot like my ex-husband”

“Funny you act a lot like my ex-wife” he retorted back though he’d never been married, Raven scoffed at that and as Roman looked her over he had to admit she was quite attractive from top to bottom, the fact she killed people didn’t diminish that attractiveness at all. _Enhanced it really_.

“You know that feeling you get when you return to your old stomping grounds?” Raven spoke keeping her eyes on anyone walking near-enough to hear either of them or glancing at people she thought were staring too long. “That nostalgia and warmth for the old place”

“I never went to a huntsman academy, but I get what you’re saying" Roman could think of a few old hangouts where a fledgling pickpocket with nothing, but a cane and some aura had started a beautiful career.

“Yeah I’m not feeling that right now” That drew a laugh from Roman, The Branwen women’s humor was mostly sarcastic and mocking, just as Roman liked it though he preferred the elder Branwen’s humor over her Daughter’s more punny side. _Though Neo’s pantomime is still king_.

Neo was risking a lot by smuggling in the goods to Yang and if Roman was being honest, he was worried about his little assassin.

_Neo can take care of herself. _He assured himself for the 20th time that day, wanting Raven to extradite her ASAP. _She knew I’d be fine in prison she can handle herself._

“So I have an ex-wife you got an Ex-Husband” he made idle chatter as he typed. “So why don’t we try to solve that, the kids already get along, we would be just one happy…”

Raven gave him a less than amused look and he snickered; her blue lenses were really killing the whole death glare thing. Raven in response reached forward and flicked him in the forehead. Roman had seen it coming and prepared for it, but Raven’s aura focused finger hit like a train, Roman’s aura flared and he wiped his forehead as pseudo-pain itched its way in.

“So she’s like your child then” Raven was asking about Neo, Raven and Neo had been a duo group for many years now and he’d come to rely on her skills whenever his own fantastic abilities were lacking. _As rare as those times are._

“We’re close let’s leave it at that” Roman said with all the seriousness of a doctor telling a man he had a terminal illness. Raven stared at him for a second before deciding it wasn’t worth pressing. Roman had to stop himself from laughing, snickering or just breaking down into tears, neither he nor Neo cared about people knowing what their relationship was until they both realized how fun it was to confuse people regarding that subject.

_All have to tell her about how I cowed Raven from asking further. _He thought to himself slamming down a sneer. _Almost as great as when Neo got Yang to explain how sex worked to try and get Neo to talk._

Suddenly as the old funny memory faded a black chess piece flashed on the screen, Roman tapped Raven's shoulder and she spun to watch it, blinking chess pieces. _The Black queen_ virus a diabolical program invented by Doctor Arthur Watts himself, though on the list of his creations this was the least horrifying. _The Black Queen_ Virus offered a person controlling the master program to gather data from computers and scrolls infected with the program and in some instances, control them as well.

Roman just wanted the CCT tower in his control, all the other junk wasn’t exactly relevant now.

“Do you have it?” Raven whispered into his ear, Roman did his best to nod in affirmation, worried his fiddling might upset the AI watching over these PCs. His scroll was attached to the computer and he’d gotten a sort of copy of the original master program off of a former headless employer. He was sending the _BQV _a false update that would shift control to his master-copy.

He just hoped this foolhardy plan would work. He waited and Raven waited, seconds seeming to stretch on forever as they stared at the screen until the Queen flashed red and _update accepted_ blipped in on his scroll. Roman let out a breath he’d been unaware he’d been holding. Raven gave his hand a firm squeeze, they had what they needed, it was time to leave. Roman unplugged the scroll and pocketed it quick as a hiccup.

Roman was glad to go, he hated this place, hated the huntsmen and huntresses everywhere and hated the feeling he was going to fail a class breathing down his neck and the subtle scent of near-suicidal stress.

_No wonder I dropped out_. It takes a certain kind of mad man to go to one of the huntsmen academies and considering how many hunters he'd beaten the ass of, he didn't think all the stress was worth it.

They didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention as they left so Raven hung off his arm and they played the part of the dating couple touring the school, that lovey-dovey shit usually was enough to get people to look the other way.

Roman fancied that he was doing it well enough but Raven… Raven needed work. She had a blank face as she gripped his arm and the most emotional, she got was when any woman would look at him, she’d give them a death glare.

“What the hell are you doing” Roman whispered to Raven as they headed down the Elevator to the CCT tower base. Raven gave him a confused look.

“I’m playing up the dating couple bit” She answered with blank honesty.

“What were you just a feral child before you came to civilization? Did you conk your first boyfriend on the head and drag him back to your cave?” He chided her only to go opened mouth when Raven did not reply with a threat or an insult but a look of honest contemplation.

"Hmmm" Raven pondered her voice analytical as she thought back. "My first time with Tai was after a particularly rough training session… I did break his aura with a skull strike now that I think about it"

_My god, she's serious._ Roman realized as a cool shiver ran up his spine. _This Taiyang fellow must be something to hold down this dragon-lady._

The doors chimed open and the busy first floor of the CCT tower was a bustling affair with students, teachers and Atlas officials filling every inch of the floor. The talk was loud and most people even the Atlas nerds didn’t give Raven or him a second glance. Muscling through the crowd would have been difficult for anyone not as fantastically confident as Roman Torchwick nor sub-consciously dangerous as Raven Branwen. The crowd seemed to just flow around them as they walked.

“Well that wasn’t so hard” Roman muttered to Raven. “And you were worried”

“Remember dear” Raven hissed through clenched teeth. “Luck is a bitch”

And indeed she was because right as they were about to reach the front doors, a pair of women walked in, women who both thief and assassin recognized. No one could have mistaken the snowy white locks of a Schnee and there were few people more dangerous than Winter and Weiss Schnee. Roman hid his face to the best of his ability, but from his peripheral vision, he could see, Weiss, staring right at Raven.

* * *

**Weiss**

Raven didn't look away from Weiss' gaze. Weiss knew it was Raven, she had to be the irises on her eyes were obviously fake, but her size and posture were certainly her. Winter was re-explaining some form of prisoner protocol and, rather rudely, Weiss had tuned her out. What Raven was doing here was far more interesting.

Raven wasn't reaching for a weapon, she wasn't glaring she was just looking at Weiss, Weiss expected shock, fear, anger, desperate hope… well ok, she'd heard enough stories about Yang's "mother" to know that that was not something to expect. Raven was Blank with just that searching analytical eye, that look brought the question back to Weiss' mind.

_Why didn’t you go with her?_

And with that question came what Weiss had seen right before Yang went for Ruby’s eye. Weiss worried her forehead was sweating as she mused on those troubling ideas. Without a word or preamble, Raven broke eye contact and pulled her chaperone with her out of the CCT tower.

And Weiss just let her walk out.

“Weiss… Weiss!” a hazy voice reached Weiss’ ear, she turned quickly to face her sister’s disappointed look.

“Hmmm? Yes?” Weiss asked as politely as she could muster, Winter gave her a disapproving gaze. “I’m sorry Winter I phased out there for a second, what did you say”

“I was simply asking if you had any questions regarding interrogation etiquette, though now I’m curious if conversational etiquette classes are also necessary” The annoyance on Winter’s face was obvious and genuine and Weiss knew she’d made a social misstep.

Weiss ran her fingers through her long unrestrained hair teasing the ends of one long strand. “I’m sorry Winter the prospect of this interview has left me more than a bit distracted lately. And just now I thought I saw someone I knew”

She buried her face in her hands and blew out an exhausted breath, she was tired and anxious and doubting herself, it was making her Aura buck against her control. Winter gently set a hand on Weiss’ shoulder and firmly led them into the elevator. A student tried to enter but Winter stared him down and the kid mumbled something about ‘wrong room’ or some such nonsense.

As the doors closed behind them Winter turned Weiss to face her.

“You must keep it together little sister” She spoke in a hushed whisper, despite their apparent isolation. “What is about to happen will not be easy for you, I know you are tired, but if you are determined to set yourself on this path you must focus yourself”

Winter was concerned and kept a caring tone in her words as she struggled to bring Weiss out from her distracted funk. Reaching up Weiss gripped her sister’s hand and gave it a comforting squeeze; she did need strength for what was about to come, and she would find it one way or another.

Weiss let go and turned her back towards her sister, lifting her hair as she did. “Would you mind doing my hair I appear to have left myself in a bit of a mess. Winter nodded as if Weiss had given her a mission where the fate of Remnant hung in the balance. Winter’s delicate fingers gently tugged on Weiss’ hair pulling it back and tying it in the ex-heiress’s signature side knot, her little sign of personal rebellion, the one drop of imperfection she permitted herself.

Winter's hands moved with a quick dexterous grace that would have surprised some who knew her by her strict roughness and combat prowess so that by the time they reached professor Ozpin's office Weiss' hair was immaculate and her tiny tiara was fitted perfectly at the ponytail's base.

“How’s that Weiss?” Winter asked knowing she’d done a fantastic job. Weiss smiled.

“It’s perfect dear sister” and it was, it was just the thing Weiss needed to get her ready for what was to come, it gave her the confidence she’d been struggling for.

The doors chimed open and professor Ozpin’s office was laid out before the two Schnees and it was more than a little packed, with Atlas specialists and Vale huntsmen glaring at each other over the heads of puny governmental diplomates trying desperately to bring order to the whole affair.

Winter and Weiss simply strode to Ozpin's desk with the confidence that comes from fighting a tyrant every day of their lives. A hologram of Ironwood floated behind Ozpin gazing over the massed group of expert Aura users. He shook his head before returning to a conversation with Ozpin that Weiss was only able to hear the end of.

“…cuo is making rather aggressive overtures regarding this incident” his voice came out fuzzy due to the filtering tech projecting it. “Shade has expressed interest in an interrogation of their own.”

"That might prolong our schedule" Ozpin replied before his brown eyes swiveled to the Schneeblings marching towards him. He stood as they approached, Ironwood gave a curt bow as his gaze locked onto the snow-white women. "Weiss, Winter, it's a pleasure to see you again, so soon"

Winter returned the curt bow to both headmasters and Weiss curtsied being sure to keep her form regardless of her distaste she felt towards the General.

“General! Headmaster!” Winter’s head rose from her bow. “We’ve come to conduct the joint Atlas/Vale interrogation of subject 123B Yang Xiao Long.”

Ozpin smiled at them in an almost sly manner, were it not for the warmth in his eyes. "Seems a bit odd that the joint Atlas/Vale interrogation is being committed by two Atlassian Nationals.” He chuckled a bit and Weiss despite herself joined him.

“Rest assured Professor, I shall not show Atlas any favoritism during this investigation” Weiss replied, glancing at Ironwood with a blank expression before smiling back to Ozpin. “And these last few years Vale has been more my home than Atlas I’m afraid so mentally I am well prepared.”

“Very well” Ironwood answered as if he’d expected this response and likely he had, Winter’s briefings were thorough and never lacked for depth. “You shall be supplied with a Scroll containing footage of previous interrogations and evidence relating to previous crimes, Total control of the Cell shall be granted to you, including the ability to retract her chains. After a point, the interrogation is in your hands"

Ozpin slid 2 scrolls across his desk one towards Winter the other towards Weiss both lined with a dark onyx Green, Ozpin Green. Both were retrieved and Weiss began lazily scrolling through hers before looking up at Ironwood.

“So all interrogation methods are left up to me?” She asked him.

“Within reason” he nodded, Weiss suspected what that entailed depended on random camera shutdowns and the like.

“Very well,” Weiss shut the scroll with an air of finality. “then I shall use whatever means I deem necessary”

She smirked and Ironwood’s eyebrow twitched, but he said nothing.

_Good!_ Weiss thought before nodding to both headmasters and heading towards the Elevator. Winter following close behind.

“Will we have service in the interrogation room or is it a black-out Zone?” Weiss asked as the door closed behind them.

“We should be able to pick up the CCT, why do you ask?”

“I’m expecting a call from my team, they may have ideas for what I should say to Yang” Weiss answered.

_And maybe they’ll be able to curtail her madness… and my own._


	42. Silver and Lilac

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby has a panic attack and Weiss has frustration. Love is involved in both cases

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for not uploading lately, I shall endeavor to fix that with the upcoming chapter, please leave a review and thank you for your patience!

**Ruby**

“You have silver eyes” Qrow began. “That’s what Ozpin said to you when he first met you right?”

Ruby had been shanghaied into taking a long multi-hour rest, by her traitorous teammates Blake and Weiss. If this were the military Ruby swore, she’d have court-martialed both of them for this backstabbing action, even if it did help her finally feel 100% again. And Weiss wasn’t here right now so it wouldn’t be fair to punish Blake alone wouldn’t be fair in the slightest, so she settled for grumbling.

The grumbling died when Blake told her that Weiss had gotten herself attached to the investigation team.

“She told us to send her any questions we’d want Yang to answer, anything that could get her placed in Vale rather than in Atlas” Blake had told her, holding up her scroll as she explained. “Your uncle and I have been thinking up a few while you were out” she set the Scroll down reverently onto the bed. “But we wanted your approval before going through with our inquiries”

Qrow snorted at that. “She wanted to wait, I think we shoulda sent them, sorry pipsqueak but time ain't our friend" Blake shot him a look, she'd always been cautious regarding people outside the team and Qrow was no exception, in fact, he was worse off. Ruby was about to intervene when Qrow made that comment about silver eyes and Blake's hackles rose.

"Ummm yeah, he did, so?" Ruby shrugged, she'd rarely seen her uncle speak so reverently. Qrow didn't scratch behind his neck, he didn't take a pull from his bottle he just skootched his chair closer to Ruby's bed and began to talk.

"That is a very rare trait. Old legends, before huntsmen and huntresses, say that those with silver eyes are destined to live the life of a warrior." He was in storytelling mode and Ruby felt like a child again; enraptured on his every word. "What you did back there, some legends say that these silver-eyed warriors could kill the Grimm with a glance, stop them dead in fear with just a glare.”

It almost seemed ridiculous, Grimm couldn’t feel fear, that wasn’t something they were capable of but the way Qrow said it, Ruby couldn’t help but take him as seriously as possible. She could tell he wasn’t lying.

Qrow stood up and walked to the windowsill resting his hands against it. “What’s been going on lately has been fucked up, and the Grimm won’t take the tension in the air lying down. Ruby we’re going to need people like you very soon”

Ruby reached up and brushed her finger against her eye-lib, then a thought hit her.

“Uh Uncle Qrow?” she asked tentatively frightened by what was in her mind, he turned from the sill to face her.

"What is it, kid?"

“Mom had silver eyes, right?” His face fell and a sad look crossed over his features, he didn’t answer he simply nodded.

_He looks like dad when the memories hit him_. Ruby thought

“Did Ozpin only let me in because of my eyes?”

“No Ruby” Qrow answered quickly a sad look crossing over his features, he approached the bed and rested his hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “You’re a great huntress, you’re skilled, strong and have the mindset to actually make a difference in the world. You are not just your eyes.”

Ruby nodded but she could feel the emotions welling up inside her, the tears pressing out of her eyes she now cursed. Qrow seemed sincere his words wrung true, but she couldn’t help thinking that her reason for getting into Beacon might have had less to do with her stepping in to stop a robbery and more about the tint of her irises. It hurt to think about.

Ruby turned away from her uncle and buried her eyes in her blanket, she didn’t want to see anything right now, she wanted part of the world to disappear. The little leader had to feel this way, if only for a few seconds. She took in a shuddering breath before she spoke, her face still buried in her blankets.

“H-h-how duh-do I use t-th-this?” she bit her cheek stifling her own stutter. She’d felt the fire burning behind her eyes ever since Yang left and that one moment had unleashed it but if this could be used against the Grimm Ruby would find out how to control it. “Can Ozpin teach me?”

Qrow’s hand left her shoulder, he was quiet for a minute.

“Ozpin… Oz is smart but he’s not exactly sure how the Silver eyes work”

Blake scoffed at that response; Ruby could almost hear her pacing, though her footsteps were insanely light especially when she was in her gear.

"Why did it affect Pyrrha?" The Faunus asked a bite deep in her words. "Or Yang, she might dress like a Grimm, but she isn’t one.”

Ruby looked up from her blankets at Qrow, who had a pensive look on his face as he scratched the bottom of his chin.

“Look kid I don’t have all the answers.” he raised his hands palms up.

“I would’ve settled for ANY answers” Blake snarled back. “But it looks like you’re deciding to just leave us with more questions instead.”

Qrow stood at that and turned to face the shorter Blake. Blake’s ears were flattened, and her hackles were raised as they glared at one another.

"You want answers kiddo fine, here are a few theories.” Qrow spat back at the Faunus. “Yang’s been fucking around god knows where with things that she should have left alone. You saw that mask; some Grimm shit is going on and I know you’re not so stupid as to not see that!”

Their stare off continued; Ruby’s friend and closest family member stared daggers into one another. Ruby was about to say something when she noticed the 4th person in the room.

“I hope I’m not interrupting," Penny said with Genuine cheer, Causing Blake and Qrow to break their stare-off. "Unless I've just prevented an altercation from turning violent in which case, I hope I have interrupted you severely”

“Hit the nail right on the head, Brobot” Qrow responded, Penny gave a gracious bow and smiled brightly. Qrow headed towards the door turning before he left. “I can’t tell you everything, but if you think you’re ready, Ozpin can and will answer your questions”

With that, he left. Penny sauntered over to Ruby's bedside as the door slammed shut. "What an amazingly peculiar man. Ruby, I'm glad to see that you are conscious once again."

Penny was as she always was, sunshine and rainbows completely oblivious to the doom and gloom feeling pervading over the whole room. Normally Ruby was glad for this comfortable obliviousness but she was still struggling to sort out everything in her own head. Ruby hugged her blanketed knees to her chest and tried to beat away the tearful warble in her voice through willpower alone.

“Hey Penny” She struggled to put on a smile and keep her voice steady. “I’m glad you came to visit me”

Penny froze in her stride and just stared at Ruby intently for a full minute in silence.

"Uh, Penny?"

“You are in extreme emotional turmoil Ruby Rose." the robot girl stated, as a matter of fact, causing Ruby to blink in surprise.

“What? What are you talking about I’m fine.” unlike Penny Ruby didn’t have an obvious tell, she was shocked by how easily Penny had been able to read her. “What makes you think something is wrong?”

“You are avoiding eye-contact 67% of the time, your posture is a closed-off one rather than your usual openness, your greeting was several octaves less than normally expected and" She lifted a finger in a dramatic gesture. "My gut says you're bothered."

Ruby just gaped in stunned silence while the corner of Blake’s lips twitched up as the thought of a smile passed through her mind.

“She has you there Ruby” Blake answered giving Penny a nod of respect.

"Alright Penny, there is something on my mind alright! There's a lotta things on my mind, these past few days have been quite confusing all around." Ruby threw off her covers, hung her feet off the edge of the bed and started to scroll through the proposed questions written on Blake’s scroll. “I just gotta… I just gotta…”

Her fingers were shaking and the scroll tumbled out of her grasp, she held her elbows as she tried to steady herself.

_Not now_. She cursed trying to force herself to be grounded in reality, but the more she tried to force it the worst it got.

Yang materialized in front of her in her room, she smiled at Ruby the way she always used to, golden bracers on her wrists and lilac in her eyes. Then she started crying, black gooey tears, it poured out her eyes and nose and ears until it coated her chin chest and hair, she was choking on the goo. Ruby scurried back further on her bed getting away from what she was seeing, she had to getaway. The goo coalesced over Yang and the Grimm bone mask started to emerge through, her sister’s hair was night black, her eye blood red and she glared death at her sister.

** _Ruby!!! _ **

The voice rumbled eliciting a shriek from Ruby. _What happened to you Yang what did you do? Why couldn't I save you_? A hole punctured in the Grimm-sister's shoulder, popping like a bubble and from it pooled out a red liquid, a recognizable red liquid.

_It’s red like roses her blood is red like roses!_

"red like Roses, her blood that's red like roses," Ruby muttered to herself again and again. The phantom of her sister wouldn't go away and as she grinned through the black sludge, her teeth sharp and glistening white, Ruby fell silent, then Yang lunged at her and Ruby screamed.

Then she felt a warm hand on her back and reality crashed down on her head, she looked around her, she had backed herself into the corner of her bunk, Blake was holding her wrists down on the bed and Penny was sat beside her, her warm hand pressed to her back. Penny made soft tuneless humming noises as she rubbed up and down Ruby’s back.

It took Ruby an embarrassed second to recognize that she’d just had another panic attack. She cursed herself, as she calmly tapped Blake’s wrist and gave her the all-clear nod.

“Are you all here Ruby?” Blake asked golden eyes not leaving her leader’s face, seeking out any sign of lie or deceit. Ruby had to admit that when she got worse, she was too quick to pretend it was nothing.

"I'm here Nuh-now," she said giving the all-clear nod once again. "What happened?"

“You started mumbling nonsense for 15 seconds, I’d almost say mewling, then you repeated ‘Red like roses it’s her blood that's red like roses' about 17 times before retreating back and screaming for a full minute and 12 seconds" Penny answered precisely and quickly with no judgment in her voice. "Blake had to restrain your wrists when you started flailing around during the screaming, the flailing started immediately as the screaming began. I am in the process of sending an aura pulse through your back to help lower your heart rate"

"Thanks, Blake" Ruby responded shame soiling her mind. "Thanks, Penny!"

“No worries Ruby!” Penny responded smiling happily, it was then that many factors struck Ruby. Penny was close to her, Ruby could smell the scent of cleaning oil and dust propellent all over the Robot girl, Penny’s hand on Ruby’s back felt amazingly good, and they were both on a bed together.

Ruby’s cheeks flushed as all the information compiled itself together in her head.

"Are you alright Ruby?" Penny asked leaning in closer to examining the redhead's reddening cheeks, Ruby just stared into the robot girl's haunting Green eyes, Ruby could see a soul behind those eyes. "Your core body temperature has risen again and your heart rate has picked up once more! Is another panic attack imminent?"

“No Penny” Ruby responded breaking eye contact with her oblivious friend. “Just sympathizing with Pyrrha?”

Blake let out a snort no doubt recalling something from a torrid book involving way too much flowery symbolism. Ruby shot her a Silver glare and scooted forward on the bed retrieving the Scroll she’d dropped in her panic, Penny scooted forward with her resting her chin on Ruby’s shoulder to read the scroll.

_Oh mother help me_

Ruby paged through the proposed questions crossing out a few that seemed either pointless to her or might endanger Yang’s chances of getting a permanent residence here in Vale. _A Ticket to Atlas was a one-way affair._

In the end Ruby had a loose assortment of Questions prepared, reworded and organized in proper order. She wasn't an organizer like Weiss, but she was relatively proud of her work here. She blew out a breath before hitting send, shipping off the questionnaire to her partner. Once the ‘received’ icon flashed she flopped down on the bed letting out an exhausted breath.

Penny loomed over her, her face framed by her beautiful Orange curls and Ruby considered several stupid things she could do right now. Penny looked confused.

“Are you alright Ruby, you must be elated now that your arduous task is completed.” Ruby just hummed in response and reached up cupping Penny’s cheek in the palm of her hand, Penny smiled and leaned into it. “Your pupils have dilated does the texture of my cheek feel that gratifying?”

“Just happy to have it done, and to have you here Penny” Ruby mumbled, brushing her thumb over Penny’s freckled cheek. “It’s all I’ve got”

* * *

**Weiss**

Weiss was understandably nervous as her finger flicked through the inquiries her team had sent her, mostly related to crimes in Vale, violence done against Beacon students, a whole hodge-podge of questions to accomplish one thing and one thing Only, make Yang’s crime a Vale crime. Normally she would have made an exasperated noise, exhausted by the fact that Yang was already crammed deep into this criminal life with no visible way of getting her out.

But that mopping would have to wait for when Winter wasn’t in the same room as her. Winter had her own eyes locked onto her own scroll, flipping through questions returning to a piece of evidence and making a slight adjustment to account for any sort of clerical error. Winter seemed solely focused on her scroll, but Weiss knew better, winter was keeping track of what Weiss was doing as well. So Weiss had to keep her regular reactions in check.

_Winter might know my secret, but she doesn’t need to know how much it’s disturbing me. _Weiss mused pinching her lower lip as she thought of a way to reword a certain question for the most favorable response.

“Hmmm” she hummed to herself testing Winter’s waters.

"What is it, Weiss?" Winter asked not bothering to look up from her screen though Weiss could just feel her senses sharpen.

Weiss slowly looked up from her scroll a plastered on quizzical look on her face. “Sorry Winter I was just taking note of the fact that Ruby had awoken from her nap” Weiss took a sip of tea from the glasses provided in the waiting room. “She hasn’t been in the best of places since the arrest… and since that whole white flash thing”

“I see” Winter responded her brow furrowing, but whether that was out of her disbelief of Weiss’ statement or out of her own confusion regarding the white flash, Weiss couldn’t say.

The Interrogation waiting room, or as the overly dramatic Valean's called it "oubliette" was a sparse affair with a gatekeeper at the main door and a few couches and coffee tables for interrogators to sit and rest at as they compiled their notes, there was also a station where you could plug in your scroll and review the footage of previous interrogators and make recordings of the interrogated. And yet it was still called a dungeon built like a dungeon and the chains were made of dust enhanced manacles using an age-old technique.

Modern Atlas tech mashed with the old charm of Vale. These were the two strongest kingdoms working in concert to create the strongest cell possible.

_And yet they are fighting over who gets to hold her down._

Weiss could tell why Ironwood and Ozpin both had their own personal ideas regarding what would be right and just in this situation, and if what Raven said was true and Weiss wasn’t really considering that no not at all, they were concerned regarding how this would play into someone else’s plan. Schemes within Schemes within Schemes, it was all very ridiculous to Weiss and she was fast growing tired of it, she shook her head keeping focus on the here and now. Keep herself focused on her goal: Yang in Vale.

_And personal questions regarding what that was before the flash of light_. A hair fell out of Weiss’ tight ponytail and she glared at it for a second as it hovered in her vision, before reaching out and plucking it off her skull with a swift yank. It hurt but it was nothing, Weiss would have everything in its proper place damn it.

_And I will look my best._

“I think I’m ready Winter” Weiss’ scroll snapped shut and Winter’s followed suit. Winter didn’t question her sister just gave her one last look before her features steeled themselves and they approached the door.

Winter removed her glove and pressed her index finger against the door, a few clicks echoed in the room before the door slid open. Weiss took a deep breath before marching forward.

* * *

The room was off, the noise was muted, the air seemed colder and the light was less than complimentary to all beneath it, the antechamber had 2 seats in it bolted to the floor, a set of bars separating it from the main cell. The cell itself was sparse with the bed on the far end of the room, with no windows and a lock stuck in the center of the room, fixing an enormous length of chains to it. Weiss had seen this room before, in the many videos of Yang's time here, but the room was different in person.

_It feels off. _The lights in the room were dim no doubt to give the prisoner time to rest their eyes. Weiss’ eyes lingered on the lock in the center of the cell, following the length of chain as it traversed across the floor till her gaze came to rest upon a pair of shackled wrists. They were hanging between a set of knees and above those wrists, behind golden curls 2 crimson red eyes smoldered at her new interrogators.

_Well, Yang's won the first bout of wills_. Weiss thought, feeling a chill run up her spine as that Gaze bore into her. Yang wasn't afraid, she wasn't perturbed she had no fear in this situation. As far as the Schnee siblings were concerned Yang had made this cell her den and she was the predator who ruled it.

_But such is the job of a huntress_. Weiss thought Watching Winter shoot back a look of defiance at Yang, Yang just grinned at the look. _She is adaptive, her reaction to different interrogators varies wildly from the last, she shifts herself to suit her opponent. She does this in combat and out of it, it seems._

“Ms. Xiao-Long, before we begin would you like us to read you your rights?” Winter asked all business, Yang’s eyes shifted away from Winter settling on Weiss, she was quiet as she stared. “Ms. Xiao-long?”

"No need Winter, the last few fellas ran me through the business," She said conversationally not lifting her gaze from the ex-heiress. "I know what rights I got"

“Very well- “

“You look good Weiss” Yang interrupted Winter, the action was taken so casually it shook her, but Weiss had been expecting it.

“And you’ve interrupted my sister when she was going to ask you a question” Weiss replied just as casually. “That’s very rude”

"You're right" Yang grinned turning back to Winter with exaggerated movements. "Please forgive me, Winter, I meant no offense whatsoever, I'm a lowly farm girl with no concept of manners"

“You certainly lack etiquette” Winter retorted as cold as Atlas snow. With a few clicks of her scroll a hologram appeared in Yang’s cell illuminating her and projecting her many statistics, Weiss almost blushed when she saw that bust size was listed. “We’d be willing to accept a confession right now”

“Why would I do that?” Yang asked still looking over her own statistics.

“A confession of your crimes would make processing easier, encourage prosecutors to go easier on you and… give you some say as to which kingdom was responsible for your incarceration” Weiss answered hoping Yang would take the hint and keep herself in Vale

_This is an out Yang, an Out! _Weiss thought, watching the cogs turn in Yang's head, hoping, praying to whatever force in the universe would get her to say the right thing, but even with the smile, Yang had made herself unreadable.

Yang pondered for a minute just gazing at the holographic readings before taking a deep breath.

“How long is that offer on the table?”

“Today” Winter answered with the finality of a gravestone. “You have this offer for today.”

Yang turned quiet again, cracking her knuckles and looking intently at her cuffs and back at the two women in the room with her. Her hair was immaculate despite her lack of brushes and cleaning equipment, Weiss speculated that Yang could brush her hair using only her fingernails.

“Lay’em on me” Yang eventually said leaning back in her cot and motioning towards the Schneeblings, to continue with their questions. “We’ll see how I feel by interview’s end”

_DAMMIT YANG!_ Weiss cursed inside her head letting the inner turmoil rage like the sea in a storm or like Ruby in a snowball fight. _DON’T BLOW THIS PLEASE!_

"Very well," Weiss said calmly, before pressing a button on her scroll bringing forth a collection of dates over the last two years, each date was associated with a different crime that had occurred within the kingdom of Vale that Yang was suspected to have been associated with.

“Were you in Vale during any of these listed dates?”

“Why? What happened during them?” Yang retorted back, her registered heart rate remaining steady.

“I’m sure you can guess” Weiss answered back getting a mock-confused look from Yang and only a tiny spike in her heart rate. “A number of criminal activities relating to you”

"Ohhhh!" Yang answered as the gears had finally clicked. "No none of these dates, not familiar at all"

Weiss’ heart sunk, Yang was going to be combative every step of the way and it was going to get her killed. But Weiss noted that Yang’s heart rate remained normal.

_That’s can’t be right, too many eyewitnesses said she was there. _Weiss thought thinking back to the recorded testimonies. _Or did Yang just become a boogeyman in Vale_

“What about these, were you in Atlas at these times?” Winter asked replacing the Vale dates with Atlas accounts.

“Nope” Yang answered. “man both kingdoms sure have a crime problem.”

_Ok so Yang is going for full denial, doesn’t make my life any easier but I was prepared for this at-_

“I mean all my crimes in both locations occurred on completely different dates” Yang finished sneering like an idiot, Weiss could feel the frustration building inside her head at the whole affair. Though Weiss didn’t know it her face had turned beat red in rage. “Are you sure you two didn’t mix up your dates?”

Weiss slammed her fist against the bars making them ring out loud, Winter jumped slightly and Yang grinned harder stifling a laugh. She glanced up at the heart rate display to see that… it was still normal, no jump no spike Yang appeared to be telling the truth, only frustrating Weiss further.

"You're facing serious charges Yang you need to take this seriously! Your future hangs in the balance." Weiss hissed through hard-bitten teeth.

"Let's see A future locked up for the rest of my life in Vale OR" Yang raised a finger like a game show presenter. "A future locked up for the rest of my life in Atlas" She lifted her hands moving them up and down as if they were a set of scales and she was examining them very carefully. "The game is already rigged, Weiss"

“So you’re just going to be an obtuse asshole about it?” Weiss shot back, causing Yang to stand up stalking towards the bars.

"Yes! Why not? One of them is going to take me and throw me in a dark room and throw away the key" Yang gestured to her cell, Winter and the display that was finally seeing some slightly elevated activity. "If Ironwood wants his 'Example' and Ozpin wants to sweep his shame under the rug, then I'm going to drag my feet every step of the way."

Yang was at the bars now close to Weiss, tunnel-visioned on her letting Winter vanish into the white noise. "You know me, Weiss, I won't go quietly"

“You’re such a stubborn Dolt” Weiss responded her fists shaking. Yang stared her down, frown stuck to her face before she took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. She wiped her hand across her face and scratched the back of her neck.

“Fine Weiss you’re right” Yang admitted taking a step away from the bars. “I’m being a dick and you’re just trying to help, sorry.”

Yang’s turn shocked Weiss, but she was happy that her friend was finally willing to be reasonable. Weiss straightened herself up, cleared her throat and unconsciously touched her finger to her lower lip. She took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry too Yang” Yang froze in her step, she turned towards Weiss, Winter shot her a confused look, Dust even Weiss was stunned by what she was saying. “I’m sorry for telling Ironwood about the clearing of single Fall.”

Yang was speechless giving Weiss a long stare.

“I never got to apologize for that, but I am now, and I know I’m not the only one who's sorry" Weiss pointed to her scroll. "All of team RWBY is, we wish we hadn't done what we did all those years ago. I'm sorry Yang"

Yang started to blink rapidly, her heart rate having a noticeable effect, she wiped away what certainly weren’t tears with the back of her arm. And blinked at Weiss.

“It’s good to hear that Weiss” as she blinked once more Weiss saw it, for only an instant, and she hoped she hadn’t gone crazy, but as quickly as the mirage appeared it vanished. Yang’s brow furrowed once she noticed Weiss’ staring. “What? What is it?”

There was a hint of recognition in Yang’s voice like she’d been hoping Weiss had some answers for her that she’d been expecting. _I don’t wonder why Ceil showed her the video of the fight I thought I saw it then too._

“Weiss you’re freaking me out”

“Your eyes” Weiss muttered not looking away from Yang’s crimson irises. “They turned lilac for a second there”


	43. Proposals and Misdirections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss and Yang have a deep chat and Yang makes an offer while Winter accuses

**Chapter 41: Proposals and misdirection**

Well, that certainly threw Yang off, she took a step back as if Weiss had just thrust a viper towards her. This was… strange to say the least. Yang recovered, focused on her breathing exercises and brought her heart rate back to a calm normal.

_My eyes turned back so what?_ She thought still hearing her heartbeat blip occasionally on the stat reader in the background. _It doesn't change anything, does it?_

Weiss was still looking at her with that damnable look of fascination her eyes almost twinkling in response to what she saw. Yang cleared her throat, she was on a timetable, and her musings would have to wait for a later date, but rest assured they would be dealt with soon enough.

Yang glanced at Winter, the other Schnee in the room and got eye-daggers thrown her way.

_Yeesh is that what I looked like to anyone fiddling with Ruby?_

“So?” Yang coughed into her hand trying to dispel the awkwardness. “The Questions? I think it was Weiss’ turn”

Weiss shook her own head as if she’d just woken from a dream, her fingers flew across her scroll at rabid speed pulling up numerous testimonies and crime stats relating to one subject: Raven Branwen.

“Is this your mother?” one of the slightly off-focused pictures of Raven was enlarged and put center hologram.

“It’s not really a good photo” Yang answered crossing her arms underneath her chest. “But Yeah that’s Mom, Why?”

Winter tapped her scroll bringing up a photo from Raven’s Beacon Years, her student ID photo it seemed, she was in the school uniform with her hair tied back in a ponytail and a grim look on her face. Yang snorted at the photo.

“Yeah Winter I’m gonna need a copy of that please.”

“Your mother is wanted for questioning regarding numerous crimes throughout Vale and the 4 kingdoms" Weiss answered, flipping through a list, Yang read through the list smirking briefly, the smile faltered as one item of interest showed up.

"Hold up," she said raising her hand. "Would you please scroll back"

There it hovered in damning black and white Yang could only stare at it her heart going wild on the reader, but her face was as cold and as still as stone. The Schneeblings exchanged glances as warning signs blared while they could see no noticeable reaction.

“What is this?” Yang said forced courtesy cutting through her words as she reached up and pressed the holographic projection. “Am I reading this correct”

"Yes, it says-" Winter began.

“I KNOW WHAT IT SAYS” Yang roared; she took a deep breath it was a hissing inhale. “Why is Raven under suspicion for THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SUMMER ROSE!?!”

Winter summoned a Glyph around Yang’s feet, an Ice glyph, Yang didn’t bother looking down at it as the room’s temperature plummeted. Yang’s semblance pulsed and hungered to lash out.

“We’re asking the questions Ms. Xiao-long” Winter responded unperturbed by Yang’s outburst. “These outbursts will no longer be tolerated, stick to answering the questions or else other methods will be taken.”

Yang bared her teeth at Winter, grinding her frosted heel into the glyph. “That’s 2 questions you Atlessians owe me”

"Noted, Are you aware of Raven Branwen's current whereabouts?" Yang was silent as she glared at Winter. Her heart rate was slowly lowered as her breathing exercises took effect and mantras filtered through her mind. "Please answer the question Ms. Xiao-Long”

"She has a teleporting Semblance Raven could be on the moon for all I know" It wasn't a lie, it was filled with snark and was combative but it was true, she'd requested her mother keep her exact location secret, but she was undoubtedly close.

**Wrap a lie around a kernel of truth**. That’s what her mother always said, and Yang stuck by it.

“Even if I was sure of where she was, why would I give that information to you?” Yang asked, giving Winter and incredulous look, what did this woman expect of her. “More leniency more preferential treatment?”

Winter didn’t answer sticking to the whole ‘we’re the ones asking questions’ schtick. _So damn cliché._

Yang turned back to Weiss, giving Winter one last glare. Weiss brushed her finger over her lip before looking back. _A nervous tick? I don’t remember that one._

“Your turn Weiss”

A new image appeared on the hologram, an image Yang struggled to forget, a body without a head in a warehouse in Vale.

“Do you know who this is?” Weiss asked simply

“Cinder Fall” Yang answered shortly. “leader of Emerald and Mercury’s team. Terrorist, murderer and half-fall maiden.”

Weiss and Winter exchanged glances; Yang wasn't surprised. Who Cinder was, wasn't exactly common knowledge and her murder had been chalked up to violence within the Fang. A half-maiden running around might have been a rather dangerous element to consider as well, honestly, it was a concept people found hard to accept, on top of the whole the Maidens are real and so is magic.

So Yang just stood there and waited for the inevitable response.

“A Half-maiden? That… that sounds impossible.” Weiss replied. “How? Why? How is she related to Pyrrha?”

“That’s a lotta Questions Weiss you’re sorta skipping the back and forth thing here” Yang chided, always intrigued by how different people reacted to this news, Weiss sought out answers Winter brooded in thought. Yang waited for Winter to interject before machine-gunning through answers. “As I know it; A magic Grimm-glove, to steal an artifact, Pyrrha got the other half of the maiden powers until… well”

Yang gestured to the picture satisfied with that as an answer. Winter finally broke from her brooding, while Weiss processed the info Yang granted to her. Winter gestured to the hologram.

“What was your relationship to miss Fall?” Winter asked, her voice strong but her face belying uncertainty.

"She's the one who set me up" Yang replied folding her hands behind her head. "Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, you Atlas nerds freaked the hell out, far more than THEY expected which threw a wrench into their little schemes"

Yang’s finger came to rest on the center of her chest. “And threw me into a cell”

With a swift turn of her neck, Yang let out a soft sigh as her neck cracked in just the right way, the sigh turned into a low growl of satisfaction as the feeling of relief hit her and mixed with the flicker of doubt on Winter’s face. “So instead of selling out my mother, how about you run off at tell Ironwood I have a few other individuals for his chopping block, actually guilty suckers too”

Winter considered Yang’s proposition for a moment; it was a nice moment, but Yang knew it was going nowhere. Another body came up on screen one Yang didn't recognize though she could identify where it was; an arms manufactory in Mistral.

“Do you recognize this individual” Winter tapped the scroll and a mug shot appeared. “He was found in the Qiang district last June, are you aware of who he is?”

Yang’s brow furrowed; something was off. “Not a clue”

Winter scoffed and flipped showing a video of Yang leaving the manufactory with a timestamp… a wrong timestamp. It says Yang was their mid-afternoon, but she’d swear on Summer’s grave she’d only broken into that place around midday.

"The evidence shows otherwise," Winter said, no malice but that phrasing put a worm in Yang's ear that latched onto a point of aggression.

“Well like last time someone’s been fiddling with your evidence!” Yang snapped back. “Maybe ask your boss who might be able to do that, I’m sure he’s got a few people who could on his payroll!”

“So you deny killing this man?”

“I don’t even know who the fuck he is!”

"What about her?" a new corpse appeared on screen and yet again Yang knew the place but not the person. "She was a huntress, had 3 kids at home. You were seen on the premises near the time of death."

Yang's stomach fell out and she looked back and forth between the 3 bodies rendered in horrible detail on the holo-screen in front of her, it was wrong somehow, so very very off. They looked like they'd been beaten to death or blasted with shotgun slugs, it did look like her handy work somehow.

_What the hell is going on?_ Yang’s frustrations were mounting but she’d be damned to the deepest pit where the Grimm was first thought up before she let Atlas pin more murders on her.

“Look! I killed Cinder Fall, ok she was going to kill someone I cared about and I stepped in! but the rest of them, I don’t even know who they are I’ve never met them before, and I certainly didn’t kill them.” Winter was implacable, Weiss had a twitch of a smile hit her face and Yang froze in realization. Her palm smacked her forehead as fast and as hard as one of her slugs.

_Well, Weiss has me dead to rights it seems._ Yang grumbled thinking about her horribly off the cuff confession, she didn’t care that she’d killed Cinder but putting it on record was another affair entirely.

Yang’s hand slid down her face and her gaze returned to Weiss. “Next Question” she barked. “Any from my dear sister, our fearless leader?”

Weiss looked down at the floor, before taking a deep breath and staring unexpected defiance back at Yang. "You shouldn't talk about your sister in such a mocking tone."

Yang couldn’t help but gape before splitting her face into a rictus grin and pointing to the huge pulsing red scar on her shoulder. “Weiss, I can talk about my sister however I want- “

“Not in front of me you can’t” Weiss retorted cutting Yang off, though she looked like it hurt her to do almost as much as the action had shocked Yang. Weiss lifted her hand to her clavicle and her cheeks blushed. “Yang you gave me a job to keep Ruby safe, and I have, I’ve helped her grow, I’ve protected her these last 2 years and I’ve beaten anyone over the head who’d ever harm her.”

The emotions going through Yang were conflicting, to say the least, she felt pride in her friend for sticking by her word, jealousy over Weiss’ attention to her sister and Shame for not being there for her herself. The anger tried to drown them out but their noise in her skull was still strong. Yang gestured to her shoulder.

“SHE PUT A BULLET THROUGH MY SHOULDER!” Yang spat at Weiss thinking back to the silver eyes drawing on that feeling of dread to fuel her anger. “SHE TRIED TO KILL ME”

“She thought she killed you!” Weiss snapped back. “For days after she was irreconcilable, she thought she’d killed you, she thought she was a murderer! She couldn’t go 10 minutes without flashing back to what happened!”

“THEN WHY DID SHE SHOOT ME!”

“SHE WASN’T AIMING FOR YOU, YOU STUPID DOLT!” Weiss screamed grabbing the bars, Winter gripped her shoulder, but Weiss shook her sister off. Yang fell silent and she could hear her heartbeat in her head. “Ruby hates killing, she hates hurting others, but that night when she saw the Atlas specialist about to attack you, she was willing to take that shot.”

Weiss paused taking a deep breath, it hurt her to remember no doubt images of a tearful shaking little red-headed girl filtered through her mind and she could do nothing to help her. “Ruby was willing to kill someone to keep you safe and you just got in the way of the shot. So Don’t you dare treat her like she stabbed you in the back Yang, you helped her when she was small, and she’s done nothing but try and return that favor to you.”

Yang took a deep breath in, eyeing Weiss she wanted to be angry, to throw a fit at her and tell her she was wrong, but it all felt empty inside her. this feeling of forgiveness towards Ruby had been budding in her gut since she and her got into the knockdown drag-out brawl in Vacuo. She had to admit it, she missed her sister, Yang missed being there to protect her, and missed being able to see her grow up.

Yang couldn’t help it she was on the run, but she’d given so much of her life to hating her sister and her team that she felt like she’d wasted whole swathes of her life.

_Ruby lost so much after I left_. She thought, knitting her fingers together between her knees. _And I never gave it much thought. _She looked up at Weiss and saw the regret and defiance on her face. _Weiss too, I left a lot behind when I went with mom._

Yang took a deep breath not looking at Weiss but at her crossed fingers. “Okay Weiss, okay” She was quiet as she said that, feeling the light thrum of a headache itch at her mind, she missed her mask and its ability to make this go away. Her wrist moved and she felt the thunder dust shard move against her wrist. The thought of another escape wracked her mind, she wanted to get out of here and avoid the issue… but she knew that way lay dissatisfaction.

“What’s your question?” Yang muttered letting the headache build in her skull. Weiss shifted from foot to foot before continuing. The Questions were like Winters, a few crimes were listed as happening in vale though mainly they were a few assaults and thefts rather than murder accusations. And being honest Yang actually had connections to these ones, not that she said so, still had to keep it close to the chest. But hey at least their inanity was helping to clear her head.

Winter, on the other hand, had more and more upsetting questions, murders unsolved that someone seemed to be framing on Yang, doctored footage and misplaced items of clothing. It all reeked of a vendetta.

_And I got a lot of people after that_. Yang thought, the singing in her head starting to hurt and get just a bit loud, she’d always hoped she was beneath **Salem**’s Radar, but she knew that **THING** was democratic enough to consider all forms of life as worthy of her delicate consideration.

Yang shivered at that musing when an image of her Mask and Gauntlets appeared on screen, locked in dust-lined glass cases, the thunder dust katana resting next to them. Yang gazed longingly at her mask and Ember Celica 2.0 long enough that she started to worry about what her interrogators might have thought.

“Where did you get these?” Winter asked, zooming in on the mask, and gauntlets. “And could you illuminate on their composition?”

Yang eyed the items and considered the pros and cons of telling the truth, settling on the useful half-truth.

“I made them” she answered not without a hint of pride in her voice, she should be prideful she did good work. “Took a while to get the proper materials, the training alone almost killed me”

Winter looked skeptical while Weiss seemed more perturbed, no doubt since she saw the mask in action firsthand.

“You made this?” Winter pointed to the helmet and gauntlets doubt clear in her words. “The best Atlas Metallurgists have been unable to identify the material, so that comes off as highly suspect, I’m sure you understand”

"Oh no, I get it 100%" Yang reassured Winter, with a smile, though the lingering absence of her mask was wearing on her.

"what is it?" Winter asked, her scroll and stylus at the ready. Yang hesitated, she knew how to make it, she wasn't exactly sure what it was but she was damn certain she didn't want any other people figuring out how to make them call it selfishness or a deep-seeded appreciation for others but Yang wanted to keep this information close to the chest.

So Yang scoffed at Winter sticking a nail between her teeth to pick at something. “I’m not sure you’d understand it if I explained it to you?”

Winter wasn’t an idiot she knew when someone was trying to get a rise out of her, and she wouldn’t be fool enough to fall for it when it came from Yang.

_Though I’m certain the atlas nerds watching in are having a conniption_

Yang sent a pulse of aura to the Thunder dust resting tight against her wrist and the dust shard sent a reflective pulse back, it was ready and raring to go it seemed. Yang started to focus her aura around her wrists waiting for the signal to alert her.

_Patience Patience Patience Yang. _The words repeated in Yang’s head over and over as she thought through her escape plan and her actions after it. _All I need is the signal._

“Are you here to kill Ozpin?” That question came out of left field and Weiss’ mouth, Yang looked up at her, her Aura blipped, and she worried the Thunder dust might go off and take her arm with it.

“What?” Yang asked mouth agape at the idea.

“Are you here in Vale in a vain attempt to assassinate the current Beacon headmaster; Professor Ozpin?" Weiss asked calmly and collectedly as if she was inquiring about a Vacation Yang had planned. "It's a simple question, Yang."

Yang let out a surprised awkward chuckle, it was all she could think to do. Ozpin wasn’t exactly something or someone that could be dealt with like that, he was as permanent as the tides, he’d be on remnant so long as this rock was spinning. So Yang had to laugh, the idea was absurd, but Yang knew that… Weiss knew that she knew why Yang was really here and was diverting.

_If they figure out, I’m here for Ironwood’s head I’m finished._ Yang thought, locking eyes with Weiss. _Damn, she's clever._

“I won’t lie Ozpin is on my list” Yang muttered in response. “Though I doubt I could accomplish anything substantial”

"Then why have you returned to Vale?" Winter cut in. Yang let the question hang in the air for a bit as she thought back to all the good if a bit naïve times she'd had here. She let out a relaxed comfortable sigh as the memories filtered in and out.

“Because Vale is my home” She answered simply. “You never want to visit Atlas Winter?”

The question wasn't meant to be accusatory, but the draw of home was something Yang considered universal. She was always a thrill seeker and wanted to see the world, to wake up and not know what tomorrow will bring. Yang wanted that and had received that, but the call of home was always something she struggled to ignore, thoughts of Patch island in their little home and the small cliff helped her survive through the harshest moments on the run.

_It’s been a while since I visited Summer_. Yang thought to herself, thinking back to mom baking in the house with a tiny Ruby zooming around underfoot, only for Yang to scoop the little girl up and hear her giggle.

“Recent events suggest an ulterior motive for your returning” Winter retorted instead of answering Yang’s Question. “Known associates, recent dealings and all too frequent disappearances, have left evidence of some greater scheme or motivation moving you”

“Worlds a shitty place,” Yang replied more than a little callously. “I keep what company I can, and unless you’ve got any proof tying me to any of those disappearances, it ain’t exactly relevant.”

Winter’s brow twitched at that. “You know you’re wanted in Vale for numerous crimes, there has to be a reason for your returning.”

Yang’s gaze shifted over to Weiss, the exposed nape of her neck, the piercing blue eyes and the little rebellious off-sided ponytail. She smiled as she locked eyes with the Schnee, Yang sighed a bit.

“There are things you can only really see in Vale” She answered not looking away from the now blushing Weiss. Yang grinned seeing that little embarrassment in Weiss again, it was a toothy hungry grin, but her joy was evident. As evident as Winter’s displeasure.

“Could I please request that you focus Ms. Xiao-long?” Winter was squeezing her scroll tightly; most people wouldn’t have noticed it from this distance, but Yang was reading all the signs of her fury. Yang could see the slight twitch of the eye, the minuscule furrowing of the brow and the pressure on the scroll in her hands was just below the point that might damage it.

_Not a fan of the idea of having an outlaw for an in-law, are you?_ The Urge to rib winter further was immense and Yang was more than willing to push some buttons.

"Actually I think it's Weiss' turn to ask a question," Yang answered keeping her gaze locked with Weiss' eyes. "Ask away Snow-angel"

And that’s when the sound of metal bending hit Yang’s ears and she had to hide away a smirk. Weiss coughed took a deep breath and regained her composure no doubt sensing an alternate motive behind Yang’s intense attention.

“Yang…” Weiss was silent for a while, her fingers brushing across the scroll, tapping nothing. “Yang, are you planning on escaping?”

Yang stretched her neck, hearing the bones pop at the stretch, she rolled her shoulders.

"What do you want me to say, Weiss?" Weiss deflated somewhat but she must have expected it. "I'm not going to let myself be stuck here."

“So you have a plan of escape” Winter accused no doubt recording every word that slipped from Yang’s mouth.

“I don’t need to have a plan to want out of here” Yang snapped, Winter’s brow twitched noticeably, and her anger was no doubt growing at this insolence, but Yang could suffer that well enough. “You Atlas military dolts just seem so set on order you forget that humans are chaotic animals”

Yang grabbed the chains around her wrist shaking them at Winter.

“People aren’t meant to be chained” The shackles dropped from Yang’s grip clattering on the cell floor, she pointed an accusatory finger at Winter. “You might pick security over a person’s freedom, but that’s going to bite you Atlas idiots in the butt one day, you know that?”

“You- “Yang cut her off waving her hand at the Hologram and the non-existent window.

"What do you think the point of the Vytal Festival was? To keep Huntsmen and huntresses sharp for the inevitable, but you Atlessians with your rules and regulations can’t stop and see that the real world doesn’t have these rules the real world is chaotic!” Yang’s gesticulation was becoming more animated now, the chains were thundering in her grasp. “That’s what Ironwood and OZPIN can’t see, they think that if everyone is either trapped in their nice pens or blindly following their orders things will be nice and dandy, for a little while that is…”

Yang sent an aura pulse to the Thunder dust shard pressed against her wrist, it pulsed back. Winter was annoyed and Weiss seemed curious, Yang continued her rant before either of them could start something up again.

"They think that they can wait out the storm, that eventually **SHE** will quit, that eventually, **SHE** will give up" Weiss's curiosity was spiked but Winter's annoyance was replaced with a subtle confusion, Yang let her semblance come forth burning her hair in ghost-flames. "All they're doing is turning everyone in the kingdoms into sheep ready for the slaughter because the other shoe will drop! I helped this city dodge a bullet 2 years ago, but she won't forget, **Salem** will take this all and bring it burning to the ground!"

Yang’s eyes looked up at the cell’s camera and locked eyes with whoever was on camera detail at that moment. "You Know Jimmy locking me up might make you and the kingdoms feel better, but it isn’t going to stop **HER**”

Something caught Yang’s eye for an instant, the flash of a black chess piece on the holo-screen, she stifled a grin, looking back on the Schneeblings with a dour face. No doubt Ironwood and Ozpin would speak to the Schnee sisters about what Yang had said and what wasn’t allowed to leave that room.

_They can’t let me out._ Yang thought with a chuckle. _I know too much, but who the heck would believe me._

“so you’re saying we should just lie down and die then?” Weiss asked staring Yang down, with that far too attractive defiance. “Forgive me but that doesn’t sound like you Yang”

Yang grinned widely and laughed heartily. “No it doesn’t but for all Ozpin’s talk of panic, he’s setting people up for a fall when this false reality he’s built up crashes down around them… I’m not naïve anymore I can live in this world”

Then a thought struck Yang almost a naughty thought, but she'd made a mistake in the past that needed to be rectified. She lifted her chained hand towards Weiss.

"I am going to escape," she said plainly as if she were discussing the weather, Weiss' eyes opened in horror at that statement but before she could say something Yang spoke up again. "Come with me this time."

The Room froze at those words, Winter was horrified, and Weiss was… Yang couldn't read her now, her own hopes were clouding her judgment.

"You, Me, Ruby and Blake. I can't stay here but you all could come with me" her heart was beating in her chest so hard now as if she were surprised by what she was saying herself, she really was. "There are still issues between us I'm not sure they'll ever be solved, and you're right I'm not sinless here." Yang took a deep shuddering breath, dust this was hard, the idea of rejection alone was hurting her. "But we can work through them if you guys are with me. No more team RWBY hunting itself, just the old gang working together again"

The Silence hung in the air like a dead man and Yang's heartbeat hammered all the louder. Weiss was hesitating, her finger was resting on her bottom lip as she was considering. It was only a few seconds but to Yang, it felt like eons. It was a stupid proposal but she felt like she had to make it, she had to try, she was hurting her family too often, something was wrong with her if it went on for too long without them, without her, Yang was worried about what she might do.

_Maybe I’ll blind Ruby next time_. The thought unsettled her and yet she knew that it wasn’t so far-fetched.

"Would you give up on whatever mission you're on?" Weiss asked, at last, Winter's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and Yang could feel a stake being driven into her heart at that. It was a strange feeling a mixture of relief and frustration. "If we went with you would you let this 'job' go?"

“Weiss!” Winter reproached. Weiss raised a hand to silence her sister, as far as Winter was concerned Yang’s escape was a null point but still the principle of the thing must’ve upset her.

“Yang?” That had put a damper on Yang’s hopes, this was her job, her mission, her vengeance if she pulled out, she was worried that Raven would see it as weakness, she was afraid that she’d see it as weakness herself.

_But I could have Weiss and Ruby and Blake back with me_. It was a hole in her that she didn't feel until she'd encountered them again in Vacuo but now that the possibility of fixing something between them had made that void ache all the further. _But Weiss isn't a guarantee, Ruby and Blake are completely unknown factors, could they live as I've lived? Is Weiss alone worth this?_

"It…" Yang opened her mouth to answer when the Chess piece flashed on the screen once more and the doorway that Weis and Winter had entered the antechamber slid open. Yang was almost glad for the interruption.

Into the room stepped a particularly petite woman with an Atlas blue Beret on her head and dark skin, she said nothing as she looked between the Schneeblings and finally to Yang herself.

“What are you doing here Ceil? This is a private interrogation” Winter asked clearly disturbed that the chain of command had been violated.

_She looks like she’s ready to grab that chain of command and beat “Ceil” with it_. Yang thought when Ceil winked at her and her blue eye gave way to pink. As if on Que the power shut down and the red emergency power lights flared on, Winter looked around in surprise and Weiss looked to Yang in prepared shock. Then the Hologram shifted completely to a Black chess piece and a Red glow. A voice rumbled forth.

“**Let my Daughter go!”** It was Raven’s voice and it seemed to have cut to both Winter and Weiss’ heart in its ferocity, Yang was used to it.

Yang slapped her Wrists manacles together and focused her Aura. The Thunder dust went off like a cannon the force of it blowing her dust enhanced restraints off in a gale-force wind, she'd been focusing aura into the shard bit by bit through the days, but her focused aura was more than enough to keep her hands attached to her wrists, but she wouldn’t stick around to strain it much further.

The question would have to wait it seemed; Yang needed to get her stuff back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to get back


	44. Accepting All Challengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang busts out and makes a huge announcement

**Weiss**

The explosion was deafening, and it filled the ante-chamber cell with smoke and dust. That was a simplified version of events, that Weiss would no doubt be able to compile in her rational mind after the fact. But then as the Explosion blossomed forth from Yang’s wrist, as smoke and rubble dust snaked into Weiss’ eyes, lungs and mouth and as the terrifying feeling of being trapped in a dark place with an unseen Grimm, Weiss would’ve found it incredibly difficult to describe what was going on around her in such a simple phrase

She raised her aura it was the first thing she had to do, as confusing as things got, she needed to protect herself, if not from Yang then from falling debris. She’d collapsed to the ground her ears ringing with Raven’s demand for her daughter and that damnable explosion, as she struggled to her feet a sound did cut through the ringing; the sound of bending steel.

Weiss reached for Mrytenaster only to grip the air.

_Did I drop it in the explosion? Were we supposed to leave our weapons in the oubliette?_ The confusion of chaos was throwing Weiss off and fear threatened to take her, she stumbled back until her spine rested against the antechamber's wall and she found her balance.

A Primal Growl rocked through the chamber and a metal barred door was flung into the wall right next to Weiss. Weiss tried to manifest a summoning circle to her palm, bring a glyph blade to her hand when she saw a silhouette in the smoke. The figure in the smoke was tall, Hair flowing behind them, long curved claws for hands, and a hunched hungry stance as their glowing red eyes traveled the room.

The Summoning circle sputtered and broke as those eyes came to rest on her, then another set of Eyes appeared next to it, and another and another. _What on Remnant?_

All the sets of eyes blinked at once before lunging past Weiss and into the Oubliette in a rush of smoke, the roar echoing harder. Weiss's heart was racing, that was an upsetting image to see but before she could give chase, she needed to check on something.

“Winter!” Weiss croaked out through dust and smoke covered lips, she floundered around the other side of the Ante-chamber cell, her hands pawing at the ground clawing for her sister. “WINTER!”

A low groaning finally breached through the ringing in Weiss’ ears, Winter was in the corner of the Antechamber, her white hair stained red with blood, nothing too bad but a concussion was clearly in her future. Weiss knelt by her sister checking for any other injuries only satisfied when no other obvious wounds were apparent. Winter’s eyes opened revealing one large pupil and one small.

_Definitely a concussion._ Weiss thought standing up straight, a wave of wooziness threatened to bring her down. _She might not be the only one._

"Stay awake Winter," Weiss said making sure her sister made eye contact with her, it was lopsided eye contact, but it would have to do. “Don’t fall asleep you have a concussion I’m going to put you in the waiting room and grab some help.”

She put her arms under her sister, focused her aura, and was set to stand up when Winter's hand gripped her collar bone TIGHTLY. Weiss had to funnel her aura to that location to keep her collar from breaking under the agonizing pressure of her sister's grip.

“AHHHH! WINTER you’re hurting me!” Weiss spat still managing to lift her sister up despite the pain.

“Catch her Weiss!” Winter spat out through gritted teeth. “We can’t let her…”

Winter's eyelids started to fall as Weiss carried her, she shook her a little and the Eyelids fluttered up once more.

“Find Ceil, is she safe?” Winter coughed as Weiss set her down on the couch not lying down but in the seated position.

_Don’t want to risk her losing consciousness._ Weiss thought, giving the still smoky and dusty antechamber a once over without spotting Ceil Soleil amongst the wreckage. _Why was Ceil here? She wasn’t a part of our investigation team?_

Weiss turned and ran out of the waiting room into the full Atlas facility and let the destruction she saw filter through her mind. It had the look of a blitz attack; they didn’t know what hit them. Atlas Soldiers were kicked into walls, stuck through doors, and left in various states of unconscious throughout the facility hall. In the time it had taken Weiss to find Winter and put her on the couch Yang had gone hog-wild in the Atlas base.

_Where are the Alarms?_ Weiss looked up the red lights should by all normal speculations be flashing red, the klaxons should be blaring but besides the occasional flicker of the overhead lights, there was no warning being sent out. _Yang's escaping! She had help! Raven!_

** _What would you do if she escaped? _**

Raven’s question echoed in Weiss’ head, making her brow twitch, and her frustration rise.

_These damn Branwen women Drive me mad!_ Weiss was certain that if she had that red eyes trait her’s would be as crimson as a cranberry at the moment. She grabbed her scroll and flipped it open. _But first things first._

* * *

**Yang**

_Okay, first things first! _Yang thought as she sprinted through the halls, Neo following close behind her, They’d been running non-stop since busting her out of the cell, and thanks to some of Roman’s fiddling they’d been given every advantage; No alarms, no alert, no proper video footage. All that stood in Yang’s way were the guards unlucky enough to see her.

Neo's umbrella blade scraped against the floor, shooting out sparks as the pair rounded a corner towards a glass-enclosed lab. There were two guards armed with the standard-issue tech looking dumbfounded at the chaotic pair sprinting at them. Had this been any other day Yang would have made some snide remark or witty joke or dust even an obvious innuendo, but not here and not with these guards they were standing in the way of what was hers.

Yang let out an indecipherable roar as she flung herself at the first guard, Neo only grinned as she snaked towards the other. This was a bad combination; Neo’s powers were versatile and dangerous they put people on the wrong foot and kept them on edge while Yang was built to exploit weaknesses with extreme prejudice. Her fist launched out at the guard fast and aggressive, he spun around but somehow managed to keep his feet on him, as he turned towards her he saw triple, and he wasn’t the only one.

Three pristine Yangs rushed at him flanking in from all directions it seemed, even his partner was thrown off guard, both were blasting wildly at the Yangs. The multiple targets, panic, and surprise were mixing into a lethal cocktail of inaccuracy and a majority of their shots went wild as they tried to hit every target.

Yang tackled in from the side hitting the guard in the hip lifting him off the ground with the force of her tackle, with a grunt she wrapped her arms around the guard’s hips and lifted him into the air fireman style. One of the distractions Yangs shattered as the beams of light from the remaining guard struck it, he readjusted his aim on Yang when Neo’s long thin small-sword pierced the guns power-pack. The guard had just enough time to look surprised when Neo snatched out the blade and whipped the point across his face.

The Guard in Yang’s Grasp was struggling against her grip, probably reaching for either a side-arm or a melee weapon of some kind, something to help with his predicament. He shouldn’t have struggled, with a swift simple easy move, Yang shifted her balance lifted his legs and slammed him into the floor, Aura or not that no doubt dazed him.

_Dazed isn’t enough_. Yang thought, falling on the man with an Elbow, she wrenched his helmet off with a swift motion letting out a head of red curls. _Not nearly enough._

She lifted the helmet and smashed it against the back of his head, that’s not to say she hit him on the back of the head, or that she’d dented the helmet on his aura. No Yang Xiao Long lifted the helmet and with semblance enhanced strength she brought the helmet down so forcefully it burst into a dozen pieces under the force of the blow, the guard’s aura shattered like an icicle falling on concrete and his head bounced off the floor and his body became unconsciously still.

_One down!_ Yang thought rising turning to see that Neo had made a pincushion of the other guard, from each joint and unarmored section of the other guard’s armor there were tiny holes with blood leaking out. Neo had that devilish look on her eye as she drew her weapon, _Hush,_ back her eyes turning white in excitement for the kill. Yang’s fist shot out and hit the guard in the chin, he dropped like a sack of potatoes and Neo gave her a pouty look.

“Quit playing with your food Neo!” Yang hissed turning back to the lab. “We’ve got limited time”

Neo raised her hand and flapped the thumb and fingers up and down in mockery of Yang's incessant nagging. Yang smirked before wrenching open the glass door to the lab and pushing through, it was a usual Atlas affair for a lab, the Mantle symbol was engraved onto every piece of tech alongside the ever-present SDC logo, the latest tech was everywhere and a few portly scientists were clinging in the corners frightened out of their minds no doubt. Neo made time to sneer at each and every one of them, Yang was too busy for that. she needed what they had taken from her.

“Where is it?” the words came out cold and a tiny bit desperate. The Scientists looked amongst themselves saying nothing. “**Where is it?”**

It was hard putting the Grimm in her voice especially since she’d been without her mask for a while but with an effort, she was able to summon it. It had the usual intended effect, different Atlas nerds peeled themselves off the walls they were clinging to and in short order had assembled the complete set, Katana, Ember Celica 2.0 and her Ursa mask. Yang blew out an exhausted breath as she approached what was her’s. They seemed to give off a hum as she approached, muted by the plexiglass containers that held them.

Tearing off the door she gently and reverently lifted her mask out and pressed it to her forehead. Yang knew she was on a timetable, but somethings needed to be done. As she held the mask there whispering into it her mantras and her list of names, a faint clicking reached her senses, she turned towards the noise, dull unamused expression on her face.

It was one of the Atlas scientists he was leaning against one of the desks oddly his hand pressed between his back and the desk and a soft clicking noise was coming from where his hand should theoretically have been. The incessant noise ceased as he saw Yang looking at him.

"The alarms are dead," Yang said, letting her annoyance be heard and being especially careful to add an extra bit of oomph to the word dead. She Gestured to Neo who raised a scroll flashing 'All clear' in the white Atlessians font. “What did you do with my mask anyway?”

Yang lifted her mask and set it back atop her head, and as soon as it was back in place, it seemed to envelop her with a torrent of calm washing over her as it covered her face and eyes. She let out a sigh barely registering what the Atlas nerds were babbling on about now. When she opened her eyes her other weapons were upon her and the scientists were still babbling.

_I don’t need them to tell me_. Yang thought almost feeling the flames, the magnets, and the hammers hitting against her mask. _I already know._

The Scientist who’d tried to activate the alarm barely knew what hit him. Yang focused her aura to her legs and launched herself forward at a blinding speed, her foot kicking out with vicious force taking the alarmist in the stomach and sending him flying into a shelf filled with chemicals. The crash was loud, and she could sense the fear spiking up in every other person in the room, save for Neo.

_That’ll have to do for now_. She thought, making an audible snarl as she turned towards Neo and began marching out the lab door. _After all, we still have a schedule to keep, and an audience waiting._

* * *

**Ruby**

When Ruby’s scroll buzzed, she’d expected the worst. And realized she’d been horribly optimistic with her assumptions. She’d raised her scroll to her ear bracing herself to hear that Atlas had already moved Yang, but she wasn’t prepared for reality.

"Yang's escaped," Weiss said over the scroll. Ruby shot up in her bed, bashing her head against Penny's forehead.

"OW! What?" Ruby asked rubbing her forehead where she'd accidentally struck Penny, the Robot Girl mimicked Ruby's motion of rubbing the struck spot but otherwise seemed unperturbed by the accidental contact. "Weiss, what's going on?"

“Yang just exploded and has made a run for it” Weiss’ voice was haggard with exertion as she ran through the Atlas compound, no doubt in fast pursuit of Yang. Ruby rested her head in her hand.

_Dammit! _She cursed to herself, Yang would be recaptured swiftly, and Atlas would state something ridiculous about the need for her to be in Atlas’ care… _Wait something’s not right._

Then it hit her she couldn't hear the klaxon alarms going off in the background, even with a good mic Weiss should be shouting into the scroll just to be heard. Instead of shouting Weiss was almost whispering like she didn't want to be heard.

"Weiss, what's going on?" Ruby asked her voice clipped and serious, Yang escaping could be expected but this without alarms or defenses operating properly implied other things.

"Yang got… outside help. Nothings working as it should. I need to get off the Phone maybe I can get her myself." And with that Weiss shut her scroll and Ruby was left in her room with a concerned-looking Blake and bruised Penny. Both were staring at her as she took in a deep breath and prepared herself to pursue her sister once more

"Yang's out," Ruby said simply as she steepled her fingers in her hands. Blake nodded and took up Gambol Shroud along with her other equipment; Dust knives, reinforced armor, anti-flashbang goggles and a whole armory of grenades.

Ruby Rose from the bed with purpose and intent to her steps, Blake was arming up and Ruby joined her. Penny had her hand over her mouth in a display of shock at the current predicament, one look from Ruby and her hand fell, and she stood up checking her many marionetted blades.

“What’s the plan?” Blake asked as she fitted a bowie-knife into her boot.

Ruby took up Crescent rose from its resting place beside the bed. Many different Dust rounds were jammed into her hip ammo holder, from the casual type of dust round to the experimental. She flung on the padded armor Blake had made for her, it didn’t weigh too much and if she was going to go up against Yang again, she’d need all the help she could gather.

"Ruby, we must Alert Atlas of the fugitive’s escape," Penny said as she examined the edge of her many weapons. Ruby considered lying to Penny or asking her to lie for her, but the robot girl was in deep enough trouble as is, Ruby hated the fact that Atlas had used her, that they'd used Penny all to grab Yang. “I can hold the Alert if you want Ruby”

“Would Atlas know if you did?” Ruby asked since they’d yet to figure out what Yang’s current mission was from Penny maybe they just hadn’t checked her memory banks yet.

"I am scheduled for a check soon so if they cross-referenced it with Weiss' scroll call they may be able to figure it out" Penny noted matter-of-factly, as she always did but Ruby could see the perturbed look on her face as she clearly did not wish to in danger her friends nor betray her country.

“Tell them then” Ruby ordered, checking Crescent Rose’s loading and reloading mechanism once more. She nodded her chin towards the dorm door. “Blake check on team JN_R”

Blake gave the confirmation nod and bound in full armor was quickly out of the dorm. All of Penny’s blades rechecked she methodically fitted them back into her tiny little backpack. She turned to Ruby and gave a crisp salute.

"You're combat-ready," Ruby said for her, getting a blush from the open mouth Penny who'd clearly intended to say the same thing. A buzzing in her pocket took Ruby's attention away from the bashful Penny, she flipped open the scroll and saw that Weiss had sent a message.

**W: bring me the box underneath the beds.**

Ruby had a confused look on her face before peeking beneath the bed to see the aforementioned box. She retrieved it and felt its heft in her hands.

_What is this?_ Ruby thought to herself reaching for the box’s latch. _Why would Weiss need this?_

The lid was half up when Blake returned a perturbed look on her face. Ruby shut the box as her Faunus friend entered. Blake eyed the box before shaking her head and approaching Ruby.

“They left as soon as I told them” Blake spoke to her leader, her voice stressed yet controlled in its own way. “Team Junior just bolted”

_Dust why’d they do that?_ Ruby relocked the box and threw it into her backpack. She had Blake, she had Penny, and, in a few minutes, she’d have Weiss too. She was armed to the teeth, more armored than before she was ready to go. Well, as ready to go as she could.

"They've been informed" Penny spoke taking her finger away from her ear, nodding to Ruby. "Awaiting further orders, Captain Ruby!"

Penny snapped off a crisp salute, that did leave ruby feeling more than a little flushed, but she suppressed that feeling, she needed to knock some sense into her sister once more.

* * *

**Yang**

Lisa Lavender was fixing her hair for the hundredth time that day, Gabe the cameraman let out a huff at her fastidious action, clearly, he'd gotten sick of the routine. It was easy for him he never had to be in front of the camera. Lisa wasn't new to on-location reporting though she greatly preferred being in the airconditioned newsroom.

“It’s fine.” Gabe hissed as Lisa; his camera sat upon his shoulders. They were outside the Atlas military base, a clean crisp looking structure that for all its style clashed horribly with the Vale countryside.

“Shut up Gabe” she snapped back, squeezing her mic in her hand, her knuckles creaking under the pressure.

They were here to report on the recent capture of the wanted criminal _Yang Xiao-Long_, on the run for the past 2 or so years, who’s rumors had made significant funds for certain tabloid agencies, but few things concrete enough for the Vale News Network to risk reporting upon. Until her capture that is now, they had first dibs on the juicy details.

“We’ll get the intro done then we’ll get the tour and gods willing we’ll be granted an interview” She flicked the mic on.

Then the ground shook as the doors of the Atlas base were blasted off its hinges in a frightfully powerful explosion. Lisa and Gabe stared slack-jawed for a second when Lisa's reporter's instincts kicked in.

“We’re doing this live!” she shouted. “come on bring the camera!”

Gabe was hesitant at first before nervously trailing after her, neither had aura so the threat to personal safety was particularly high. There was smoke pouring out of the now gaping hole.

"We're here at the Atlas military base and holding center, A large explosion has just destroyed the front gate and there seems to be chaos all around," Liza said into the mic as Gabe's camera swept over the whole of the chaos. "The most recent acquisition of this facility was the notorious fugitive Yang Xiao-Long whose crimes were numerous the most famous being the escape from the Vale and Atlas authorities during the Vytal festival incident."

No doubt the fellas at the VNN station were scrambling madly to put up some small clip or picture related to that incident, but that was Lisa was sure they’d pull through somehow. They only hired professionals at VNN.

Gabe had left a gap in the frame for the studio heads to put forth their selected clip or screenshot, so he was able to see the figure in the smoke and dust. He gave Lisa the signal with a lift of his forefinger, she nodded back.

“It appears someone has emerged from the chaos; we’ll see if they are available for comment. Warning to all viewers: please escort all children out of the room, what we are about to see could be graphic." That warning alone had viewers plastered to their seats, and scrolls switched to the VNN channel. Lisa marched towards the Dust cloud, confidence in her stride, she'd dealt with dangerous fellows before and the key to survival was always confident.

“Excuse me! Vale News Network are you available for comment?” the head in the smoke turned towards her and Gabe and red eyes glowed in the dust, Lisa halted in her stride as trepidation struck her under that glare. "Un-Unless you require medical assistance, I’m sure ambulances are on the way”

The figure emerged from the dust smoke billowing around her and appeared to pour out of her mouth like a dragon. Her blonde hair fell to her waist, tied back in a neat tail and a Grimm mask rested atop her head. She gave Gabe and Lisa a predatory grin, and both professionals considered the mistakes they made in their lives that led them to this moment.

They both could recognize Yang Xiao Long when the saw her and she undoubtedly recognized them.

“Won’t be necessary Lisa, you’re just the person I want to see" Yang practically purred before surging forward. Both Lisa and Gabe flinched at her lung, so unused to seeing such a speed in person. Gabe dropped the Camera in his fear, but before it could hit the ground Yang Xiao Long snatched it up and flung it to a small woman tailing behind her who caught it without issue. With an almost delicate hand, she plucked the microphone from Lisa Lavender's hand.

The tiny woman pointed the Camera at Yang and gave her the Okay sign, as Gabe was frozen with a dreadful combination of fear and shock, while Lisa Lavender was just incensed. Yang tapped the mic a few times, testing it.

“Testing, testing can you hear me?" Yang said her voice joking and fun. "Hello, Vale! Man, it is good to be back home!"

Yang started to backpedal away from the ruined base she’d just destroyed, and Neo kept pace while keeping the camera perfectly level.

“Now that I have your attention, I want to make one thing clear. I am not going to bring Grimm here, so let’s keep this light alright. Ok, ladies and gentlemen! About 2 years ago the kind military leaders of Atlas, threw me into a holding cell and were going to transport me to Atlas to face a Military kangaroo court."

Yang made air quotes around the word court. She shifted her neck audibly cracking it.

"Since then I've been on the run in one form or another, from Atlas, Vale and any would-be bounty hunters gunning for me" she took a deep breath and pointed towards a far-off mountain peak in the horizon. “So for your personal entertainment Vale and to keep your minds off the worst that this world could throw at you I’m gonna give you a once in a lifetime offer…”

* * *

**Ironwood**

The report from Penny had come in a few seconds before the broadcast had begun. Ironwood would have laughed at the occurrence if he'd been in a joking laughing mood. He rarely was these days as he stared at the holo-projected screen showing his recently acquired fugitive and resident pain in his ass grinning giddily at him through the camera.

His forces were scrambling already, his specialist strike teams were moving, and a squad of specially selected Huntsmen and huntresses were being gathered. He’d keep plenty of people to maintain security here in vale and have the movements be subtle enough as to not rile anyone up. All this precaution was also not to show the people of Vale and Atlas how much trouble a single woman could cause the strongest military in the world.

**_She_**_ is no doubt snickering to herself_. Ironwood thought to himself, making a note to activate the necessary contingencies so that Salem wouldn’t be able to take advantage. These contingencies were necessary for the citizen’s safety and he’d activate them without question regardless of how harsh they may seem.

To Ironwood's constant chagrin the Feed was left un-cut.

“… to all you oppressive Idiots from Atlas…”

He could feel his brow twitching as he lifted his scroll to his ear to make a few calls.

* * *

**Ruby**

“…To all you Naïve Huntresses…” The video went on to Ruby’s horror and utter fascination. Something was off, and Ruby was worried that she might be the only person who could see it.

They were all in team Junior's dorm room staring at the holo screen watching the live broadcast of Yang's challenge and latest escape. Yang had escaped but she was being noisy about it, she was kicking up a fuss and getting not just Atlas' attention but the attention of every human being in Vale.

_She’s making a big show of this!_ Ruby knew that Penny was recording every second of the broadcast and that she’d need to re-watch this footage to try and decipher what game Yang was playing. _How does this factor into her assassination plan?_

Standing next to Ruby with less a dumbfounded face and more a grim determined one was Jaune Arc, something about Yang’s video had riled him and Ruby could tell. They’d been leaders together for a long time and had each other’s backs in through thick and thin, but Ruby was worried she’d strained that relationship these past few days. Strained as their relationship was Ruby could see that the grim determination only hid a tiny spark of hope.

_And that hope is dangerous_. Ruby thought pessimistically.

Jaune’s fingers tapped gently against the pommel of Crocrea Mors, Rhythmically, he was calming himself, keeping his cool and preventing himself from making a scene, most would have missed it not Ruby. She knew who would be sent after Yang and she still feared how Pyrrha might react if she encountered her old team once again. That was a nightmare that Ruby didn’t want to linger too long on, but she couldn’t keep denying Jaune that confrontation, he might be the only person who could reach Pyrrha through the madness

_And whatever’s inside Pyrrha can’t allow that. _Ruby blew out an exasperated breath, Yang was still playing a dangerous game with people’s lives on the line, but she hadn’t done anything to rile the fear and agitation of the people of Vale, she hadn’t done anything to specifically make the people of Vale afraid of her escape. _Dust with her charisma she might endear them to her._

Jaune drew his sword and checked the edge, Ren twirled storm flower around the finger of one hand and Nora was busy loading grenades into Magnhilde. None of them took their eyes off the screen, but they weren’t focused on Yang, no their Gaze was focused on the mountain ranges Yang had indicated. And Ruby Recognized them.

* * *

**Pyrrha**

“…To all Monstrous maidens out there aching for a fight…”

She-They-it were aching for a fight alright. It was all they thought about, it was all they exalted, it was all they tried to repress. Yang Xiao Long.

_Friend-**foe.**_

** _Psycho-_ ** _wayward._

** _KILLER!_ **

The conflicting thoughts swam through the maiden's head but to anyone looking at her from outside, she seemed perfectly at peace, good it was very important to keep up such appearances. Pyrrha had learned the importance of how she presented herself to others when she’d been the MRT champion. The Other had learned the importance of Appearances when living on the streets, show weakness not just to the Grimm but to anyone and you will be attacked and exploited.

** _Weak-_ ** _Strong **t**h**e**n_

** _Strong-_ ** _Powerless N**o**w_

He knew swords spun through the air and she caught them with careful precision, the Specialist teams watching her were trying to give off an air of dispassionate interest, of lack of caring but Pyrrha could see better. As she caught the sword tip on her finger before spinning it back in the air, she could also tell that they were afraid of her. And the Other loved it.

It devolved into this some days; Pyrrha would view herself as a separate entity from the Other, the other voice in her head, the other person her soul had been mashed together with. When her mind was clearer, she could hardly separate herself, most of the time she felt like a lucid dreamer, pushing at a world she could only sort of manipulate, forgetting things and losing track of what was around her.

It scared her some nights how little power she had and how she just fell into the compulsions in her head, unable to stop them or even be able to see that what was going on was wrong, she couldn’t tell what was dream and what was real some days, what was her memories and what was the Others.

_…but I’m helping people right…_

Ironwood and Ozpin had offered her the chance to help save the world and it had torn her up inside to make the choice she had but since then she had done a lot of good, she fought the monsters kept them at bay but she lost things some days. She lost time, lost days lost compassion, just lost control. But she had to help she was helping right? Yes yes, she was she had to be or else what was the point of it all, why do this if it wasn’t helping.

** _Power_ **

It was a suggestion and an answer to her question, and Pyrrha shivered trying to brush that answer aside though she knew it would linger. Maybe the allure of power was what brought her to the MRT ring, maybe it was what made her constantly push herself further on the field, maybe maybe maybe. Maybe’s a baby. Now she was stronger, now she belonged on that pedestal she so rightly shunned before, she was the strongest, nothing could hurt her, not men, not Women not Grimm.

_but ruby…_

That sent an odd sensation in her, hope fought with fear anger with self-loathing. A chance, a gap, an exploit, a weakness, a vulnerability, a chink in the armor. Sweet release and a damnable end. Pyrrha, well not-Pyrrha, had been vulnerable once, well not just once and the real Pyrrha too, but that Vulnerability had led to pain and pain needed to be avoided. Pyrrha wouldn't be vulnerable again, she was stronger now, all enemies need to be stamped out now, no hesitation!!!

Pyrrha gave the nearest Specialist a calm smile, she turned towards him just as he turned towards her, their eyes locking at the gaze. Pyrrha had no idea how she did that trick but everywhere she looked she could find eyes gazing on her, the old ability that an Aura brought; the ability to know when you’re being watched, worked into overdrive for Pyrrha and she was always willing to watch back.

_Focus_

She looked away just as the man broke eye contact with her and she knew her mission she’d bring Yang back, bring her to justice and end this silliness. She’d do what it took, whatever it would take, regardless of who stood in her way or told her no.

Pyrrha smiled and she shivered.

* * *

**The Stranger**

“… and to everyone else willing to take a shot at me.”

The stranger could only smirk as they watched the Video play on, Yang was ever ready for a spectacle, but she was leaving herself open and exposed, and lucky for her that would draw in other useful assets.

_Like the resident Maiden. _The Stranger thought, checking their dust rounds and eying the Fangers enraptured by what they were seeing. Even the Taurus guy remained interested. _And even greater motivations._

"Atlas will go at this like a bitch in heat," The Stranger said being sure to be particularly crass in their words, words like that spike the right kind of reaction. "VNN will jump at the chance to get footage of every fight."

And if Taurus were the one to put the sun-dragon in the dirt he’d have a ready and waiting soapbox from which to stand on. Oh, rest assured the stranger would be sure that Cameras would be there, that they would be rolling and that good ole Horn head would be able to say whatever came into his skull.

_I’m Sure **She’**ll appreciate that very much._

The stranger turned towards Taurus. “What’s the plan boss?"

“We move out in force” he muttered, no doubt seeing the opportunity that lay before him and his kin. “We turn this spectacle into a rallying cry”

"Yes sir," the stranger said seeing the opportunities far clearer.

* * *

**Yang.**

"… Too all just looking for an ass-kicking." Yang thrust her finger again towards the mountain. "You can find me at the ruins of Mountain Glenn!"

Yang Grabbed the Camera and leaned in close.

“Come and get me!”


	45. The Games Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang makes the first opening move as team RWB scramble to intercept her

**Ruby**

The Challenge hung in the air, everyone in the room had heard it, every word, every detail. Yang was going to turn this into the tournament she was cheated out of and she was accepting challengers at mountain Glenn.

_Or that’s what she’s saying at least._ Ruby thought to herself, a more than cynical mindset taking over her thinking. Ruby used to know her sister, a pretty straightforward woman but this new Yang she was different from the sibling she knew, but she thought she was starting to get a grasp on Yang’s new eccentricities.

“Something’s off” Blake whispered into Ruby’s ear. Ruby jumped a bit she was so lost in thought she’d forgotten Blake’s presence next to her. “This feels like she’s baiting us”

"Not just us," Jaune said quietly not looking up from the Holo-screen giving off nothing but static. Nora hopped down from the bunk, and Ren rose from his seated position to stand next to her. They gave Jaune a determined look and started to head towards the door.

Again Ruby raised her hand in Jaune’s way and a fire lit behind his eyes, Ruby matched it with her own. No weapons were drawn but the room became very very tense in an instant.

"Ruby?" Jaune asked, a growl in his voice but buried deep underneath it was a desperate pleading of someone willing to throw away their safety for a friend. Ruby's hand did not fall, she lifted it and pressed her hand to his breast-plate, it was firm against his chest and she half-thought she felt the thumping of his heart beneath it.

“If Pyrrha kills you… she’s lost” Ruby stated nailing home the cold hard reality of that statement, she didn’t see doubt on the faces of team JN_R’s members, they were locked into this cause. “And she would kill you Jaune. So if you’re going to do this, don’t be an idiot! And if you need help, I’m just a scroll call away”

She let her hand fall, But Jaune caught it in his own and gave it a grateful squeeze. The anger vanished and an old tired smile returned to his face, for a split second he was ‘Vomit boy’ again, hopeful and nervous once more, Ruby’s friend. She squeezed back before stepping out of the team’s way. Ren gave her a nod and Nora picked her up into a bear hug shaking her a bit.

"It'll be nice for us to finally get some action, you guys have been hogging all the fights lately," Nora said, her voice as boisterous as could be.

"I'd trade places with you if I could," Blake replied her voice a cool sardonic hiss. "See you in the field."

With that team JN_R were out the door at a leisurely pace, after all, they didn't need to rush they knew not to make the same mistakes that team RWB had. Suddenly Penny beeped, honestly made a tiny beeping sound. Despite being the source of the noise she jumped in surprise.

“Ruby I’ve been ordered to join the forces seeking to capture Yang Xiao Long. Would you care to join me in this endeavor. I would so very much like to field test the team attack _Nuts and dolts_. Oh, you come up with the funniest names."

Normally Ruby would have laughed at that, glad to see the joy on Penny's face, but something was severely off here, This didn't fit into Yang's scheme at all.

"We should pick up Weiss first" Ruby answered Penny, opening her scroll and sending a message still sticking to the agreed-upon code. She received confirmation in return, though Ruby doubted Yang's broadcast had reached Weiss. "We'll need her to capture Yang… again."

They were armed and ready almost preemptively, so as they exited team JN_R's dorm room they were greeted with the sight of multiple students scrambling to throw on armor, weapons and get dust rounds properly chambered. The student body was apparently enticed by the enormous bounty placed on Yang and were unafraid of her Grimm reputation.

_Well, they're probably afraid, but that's a lotta lien on Yang's head._ She was glad for their lack of preparedness though, it would grant her and her team a head-start in the pursuit of Yang. _Hopefully, the teachers will be able to keep the younger students out of this._

The grass crunched under Ruby’s feet as she, Penny and Blake rushed to the Atlas Holding Facility, The front gate was rubble, with Atlas Personnel shooing away anyone who decided to stick around and gape at the destruction. A few Beacon attendees had decided to watch from afar, and nearest to the busted building an excited Lisa Lavender was rambling to an Atlas scribe, struggling to get down whatever it was she was saying.

That scene was particularly amusing since she was both gesticulating wildly to the scribe and shouting into her scroll, no doubt at some higher-ups at her station. Ruby was so used to seeing the reporter calm and collected on TV that this very animated version of her was almost endearing. Ruby hid her smile behind as professional a look as she could muster and approached the nearest Atlas Grunt guarding the perimeter. He seemed like all the rest until he opened his mouth.

“Sorry Ma’am, no one allowed past the perimeter” the boy squawked, only now did Ruby notice the scrawny frame of her latest Ammo-Gopher. He shook a bit as she stared down at him, which was a rare occurrence for Ruby, being on the smaller side herself.

“I see they bumped you up from _Ruby-duty_.” She said mildly, Resting her hand casually on Crescent Rose. The young grunt gulped, before readjusting his stance to as close to proper Atlessian form as he could manage. He even snapped off a crisp salute.

"Yes Ma'am," he said with gusto, Ruby raised an eyebrow at that and the kid sputtered a bit. "I mean What's _Ruby-duty? _No one calls it that…. I’m sorry ma’am”

Ruby chuckled at that before starting to walk past him. “No worries, and I told you not to salute me I’m not in the military.”

The Ammo-kid took a step in front of her to block her path.

“That’s the problem Ma’am” He responded his voice shaking slightly, as Ruby looked down on him. “We can’t let anyone other than Atlas personnel back here”

“I’m just here looking for a friend”

“Be that as it may ma’am, I have my orders and I can’t break them” Dust the kid was scared, nervous and still keeping to his orders, Ruby had to admit he wasn’t a bad kid and she may have teased him a bit much. So she just sighed and took a step back, the ammo-boy’s tension decreased noticeably at her retreat.

Digging into her pocket Ruby retrieved her scroll and brought up a picture of Weiss and the confirmation of the bounty mission she and her team had taken a few weeks back. She showed them both to the kid, who scanned over the content at a rapid, but professional pace.

"Would you mind finding this woman? she was here when everything went nuts" Ruby asked calmly. "Her name is Weiss Schnee and she's my partner"

“I know her” the kid responded though unlike most Atlessians he didn’t add a heavy sneer to his words, which Ruby supposed she appreciated. He looked around nervously and then back up to Ruby. “I’ll go find her, just don’t cross that line ok?”

Ruby gave him a nod and a jovial salute. “Yes Sir”

He smiled at the honorific before jogging back to fulfill his new mission. As soon as he was inside the building Ruby let out a sigh and scratched her forehead.

“What is Yang after?” she asked herself, almost oblivious to Penny and Blake’s presence near her. “How does ducking out to mountain Glenn get her closer to… to her target”

Ruby had to remain careful about what she said and when she said it, especially here with so many atlas ears around her. Blake was lost in thought, no doubt seeking an answer herself, while Penny simply shrugged. An idea dawned on Ruby and she turned to her robotic friend desperately hoping her suspicions were wrong.

“Penny! How has Grimm activity changed since Yang’s broadcast?” Penny considered as the green-lights throughout her systems began to glow.

_Oh Dust, oh no no no! Yang, you wouldn't would you?_ Yang killing was hard enough to stomach, but the idea that Yang would be willing to help the Grimm run rampant on the people of Vale by spiking fear seemed a bridge too far. Vale had been emotionally stunted in the last few years since the Vytal festival incident with Pyrrha, unfortunately, being the only ray of light. Turning that apathy to fear or anger might put hundreds of lives at risk. _Not to mention everyone around the world who’d have to watch that chaos._

The green lights on Penny flashed and the robot girl dinged as she turned smiling towards Ruby.

"Grimm encounters on the border of vale have shown a decrease of 13.56% since Yang's broadcast" Penny answered chipper as always. Ruby stared dumbfounded, clearly, her pessimism had been getting worse these past few years.

“You’re certain?” it was a dumb question to ask, Penny was a creature of certainties and she rarely exaggerated. “Why?”

"98.7% positive friend Ruby" Penny smiled back no doubt happy to be the bearer of good news. "as to why my psychological analysis programs still require a bit of fine-tuning to get working."

Blake glanced around at the Beacon students nearby, watching the whole affair, Ruby followed her gaze and saw almost laughter in the eyes of the students watching the Atlas soldier struggle to move the rubble, she could see the joy on each of their faces at the misfortune of the Other kingdom’s citizens.

"Atlas isn't very well-liked in Vale," Blake said simply, She could see the writing on the wall faster than Ruby had. "Maybe people in Vale just like seeing their nose get bloodied"

"Oh no I hope not" Penny responded bringing her hands up to her face in shock. "Atlas only wants to help Vale."

"It might Penny, but not everyone appreciates that… help" Ruby knew that first hand, the brunt of her bullying since the Vytal festival had been in connection with Atlas' overstepping of bound, and while it wasn't her fault that _the breach _had occurred a lot of people hadn’t seen it like that, and since Yang’s arrest many people had correlated that action with Atlas’ further snatching of powers.

The blame for the Atlessian indiscretion had landed in her lap along with many other things. That just how people acted when they were upset, they looked for people to blame, for a reason for why things happened and a simple reason at that. So many people blamed her, and she all too often blamed herself. Well, she did whenever Weiss wasn't around, the Atlessian wouldn't allow anyone to blame Ruby for the current state of affairs, Ruby least of all.

Ruby couldn’t help but smile at those old lectures secretly meant to raise her spirits, Weiss was an excellent partner. Looking up from her thoughts Ruby saw the Ammo-gopher returning from the ruined building with a slightly bedraggled Weiss following behind him.

Weiss had looked better, dust and smoke coated her, she had a few scratches up and down her arms, and there was a sunken look upon her face. It was the look that disturbed Ruby the most. Ruby felt the urge to just buck at the Atlas kid’s orders and rush to her teammate there and then, but she controlled herself and waited patiently for Weiss to be brought to her.

Once Weiss passed the line, all bets were off, however; Ruby Rushed forward and enveloped Weiss in a crushing embrace that after a second Weiss returned, she held onto Ruby almost as if she needed help to remain standing. Ruby held her up, its what friends were supposed to do.

“Yang’s at mountain Glenn” Ruby whispered into Weiss’ ear.

“I Know” that was all she got back, it confused Ruby, she thought that Weiss would be in full conspiracy theorist mode, trying desperately to decipher what it was that Yang was actually after, but Weiss was quite. It said more than screaming would have.

“She’s up to something”

“She is”

Ruby hesitated before breaking the embrace, looking over Weiss again, there was doubt on her face and tears being kept at bay from her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, herself very worried about what the answer might be.

"I need to tell you something," Weiss said wiping the tears from her eye. "About something Yang Said."

* * *

**Yang**

"How long do you want to play this game, Yang?" Raven asked, no sarcasm in her voice because this 'Accepting all challengers' thing was, in fact, a game, a farce, a show. Yang's feet dangled off the edge of the ruined building, she looked down at the ruins of mountain Glenn and remembered her first official mission. She lifted her knees to her chin and hugged them, it was a good time, talking to Oobleck, fighting with her team and getting a rude awakening that sadly paled in comparison to future ruder revelations.

Yang sighed at the remembrance, but not so loud that anyone besides her mother could hear her. "This thing with Ironwood is gonna cause a panic, might as well give them some entertainment before they take that plunge." She stood up, kicked a section of the wall of the building, and watched it fall tumbling down below. "Who knows maybe they'll be glad to be rid of him"

Raven gave her a blank look.

“But I doubt it”

“That is best” Raven muttered, Yang had felt like she’d let Raven down, in getting captured, she felt like she was the weak link and that Raven was only staying around out of obligation. It made Yang feel weak and exposed. She wanted to rant at her mother about the stupid accusation Winter had leveled her way, to get an angry chuckle at the idea that Raven had been involved in Summer’s death, she wanted someone to share the cathartic rage with. But Yang felt she wasn’t worthy of that connection anymore, not yet at least.

The plan was an easy one, draw Attention and defenses to one location, Yang would keep the focus on herself and her fights while Raven, used the distraction to infiltrate Ironwood’s ship and act as Yang’s in. Yang had to sell this fight, VNN would send huntsman reporters, most likely to get footage, to keep attention on this fiasco.

_They are a bunch of carrion-eating Nevermores._ Yang thought slightly sickened by her using them. The media had done her no favors, before or after her escape. She remembered how team RWBY had become pseudo-celebrities for their efforts in pushing back the breach. Everyone was looking for either a scandal or a creepy angle, reporters were kept off of Beacon campuses but it made, trips to Vale uncomfortable. 

That attention died down with the whole Vytal festival going on, though Yang could still remember the same VNN reporting on how ‘stunningly strong, courageous and beautiful’ Yang had been at the breach calling her ‘A Failure, a moron, more a psychopath less a huntress’ immediately after the Vytal Festival incident.

They were fickle and Yang could use that.

_They Praised Atlas for its effectiveness._ Yang looked up to see a far distant Atlas dropship approaching. _Let’s see what they say when I kick their ass._

Yang was going to hurt them, to beat them down and hunt them as they hunted her, she had chosen the battleground, picked the time. She had prep time, thanks to her mother's portals and she had surprise on her side. She looked back at Raven who'd removed the mask from her face, exposing her pale skin and red eyes to the midday sun. Raven looked like she wanted to say something to her. Yang was worried she'd say something that would make Yang feel pitied.

“You can take them Daughter-mine” Yang couldn’t tell if it was a question or a statement, she hoped for the latter.

“Yeah mom, I can” she squeezed her hand into a fist, her knuckles gave a satisfying pop under the pressure. Yang would take them, she’d beat the first wave of Atlas specialists, she’d win that first round by knock-out. When the Beacon students came she’d give them a lesson they’d keep with them their whole life, when the bounty hunters came she’d make them question their life choices. When team RWB came…

_I can’t think about that now_. She thought, pushing that intrusive idea back behind the wall her mask had made in her mind. It was going to resurface, again and again. But she couldn't let it stifle her thoughts.

"Mom?" Yang asked Raven turned towards her, giving her daughter a curious look.

“Yes?”

"Can we just have a talk between the two of us once this is all done?" Yang took another step-forward until she was on the building's edge. "I think I have more questions that need answers"

“Of course Yang” Raven answered before she took on her avian form and flew off.

Yang took a step forward and fell from the building, she blasted Ember Celica before she hit the ground, slowing her descent. She rolled when she hit the concrete, her focused aura silencing her contact with the earth. As she ran her aura silenced her footfalls, it was a strange talent, in fact, her first attempt at it freaked Yang the hell out, making her feel like she wasn't even walking, but soon it became as mundane as the rest of her strange new talents.

* * *

After a 30-minute run, she came upon them, the Atlas personnel were all setting up a base camp, dead beowolves turning into smoke all around them. Yang had herself crouched behind the ruins of some burger joint watching the dropship fly off, no doubt to pick up more men. It was a slightly more experienced crew, she could tell, the usual Atlas grunt armor was augmented in some places, a few had cybernetic-prosthetics and the rougher looking of the crew had markings on their armor tallying the Grimm they'd slain.

Yang had to scoff at the counting. _Who the hell keeps score anymore?_ The markings on the armor were mostly Beowolves and Yang barely registered fights with them anyway. Grimm hunting wasn’t necessarily about quantity but Quality, and Yang had the Quality hunts in spades. The mechanized units were setting up guns and embankments while the human agents chatted and started looking at the nearby ruins, no doubt planning their search pattern.

_Now how would I do it?_

Yang crawled deeper into the ruined burger joint, keeping an eye on the camp through the cracks and holes in the wall. Atlas had motion sensory tech and would no doubt sweep through the area, Yang could deal with that.

She found a good position in the ruins, with a nice line of sight, knelt down and focused into her mask. Normally she'd touch on the anger in it or the disdain but this time she reached for the Grimm-patience in herself, her heart rate slowed, a calm overcame her and her muscles relaxed perfectly. Yang was in her mask, sat perfectly still, keeping watch over the Atlas Camp.

_Remember mother’s lessons._ She thought to herself as her mind focused on analysis, she saw weak knees, malfunctioning arms, unwieldy weapons, holes in the armor, bitter glances between teammates, structural weaknesses, emotional weaknesses. As she watched she made a picture of their faces in her mind's eye, and she began to build a profile for each one.

It was busywork, but she needed it. She had to linger on other things; on the work and her fights. Yang couldn't allow herself to linger on Weiss or Ruby or Blake, it hurt too much. She could feel her heart rate rising, she took a deep breath and let out a practiced exhale. Those thoughts were her weakness and they'd ruin her. 

Soon she saw the Atlas crew arguing, a tall muscular man was being reprimanded by a smaller almost petite dark-skinned woman. He was pointing to a scroll and to the camp around them, while she was gesturing to the city itself. Yang focused her aura on her senses and eyes trying to pick up what she could.

"wait… orders… reckless" The large man said, Yang could only hear a few words from this distance but she could catch the gist.

“tired… scout it… active” The woman responded, there was a confidence in her voice that the big man lacked, Yang figured she’d win out on the argument. Yang could expect an aggressive pursuit even from the first lot.

_Good._ Yang thought mind racing for ways to further bait this team. The Larger man was right hunting after her would be reckless. _Maybe I should give them some bait? Later._

The dark-skinned woman had talked of scouting out the area, which Yang couldn't help but find amusing since she was scouting out them. They could take out a few Beowolves sure but the further they headed into the city the more they would come to realize that the Grimm here was more than aggressive and endlessly patient. This small crew would come back with more than a few cuts and bruises in their first scouting mission.

_When the big man caves and the scouts leave, I’ll leave them a present._

It was another half an hour before they let out, the big man acquiescing and joining the scouting party but looking significantly put out about that fact. The 6 Atlessian knights were left behind along with 2 human guards. They did a quick motion scan of the building Yang was hidden in and found nothing, she was still as a rock before heading out. Yang gave it another 10 minutes before moving.

As she stood up her bones creaked and popped and a soreness ran rampant through her body, from the lack of motion. She’d be sure to make up for that lost motion with interest. Focusing her aura to the pads of her feet she exited the ruined restaurant.

_Should I leave a message or make a scene?_ Yang considered as her gaze swept over the remaining guards. The live guards were a male and female pair, they're armor was the least marked up, and the way the other Atlessians addressed them left no doubt in Yang's mind that they were the greenest members of the group. The male had removed his helmet and had green hair tied back in a tight bun while his companion had left her helmet on and was fiddling an overcharge dust pack into her weapon.

He had a weak knee and she was amazingly twitchy.

_I know just what to do with them._ Yang thought stooping down, hefting a considerable-sized chunk of rubble into her hand, she made no sound as she spun and flung it against a building on the opposite side of the camp from her. the stone sailed through the air and struck the building with a loud crash.

The effect was immediate. The Atlessian knights all turned towards the sound at once and the woman sprung up to her feet in surprise fumbling with her scroll, her partner fell out of his chair in a similar surprise. As soon as all faces were facing away from her Yang launched herself forward in a dead-on sprint, arms held low curved like claws.

Yang tore the heads from the 2 nearest Atlessian Knights, never slowing her stride, crossed her arms over her chest and fired shells into the middle two knights and flung the heads in her grasp into the faces of the remaining two. All this she did without breaking stride or slowing her pace. The woman had turned first, no doubt hearing the rent of metal as the Knights were made headless, the man didn’t even start to turn until Ember Celica roared. By the time Yang locked eyes with both she was practically on top of them.

“What the fu-“ The woman blurted out, her rifle waving at Yang wildly. Yang cut her off with a wordless roar as she threw herself at the woman. For all her twitching she didn’t flinch when Yang darted her way, the confusion came When Yang’s hand wrapped itself around the opening of the rifle.

Yang thrust the Rifle back, smashing the scope into the woman's face and clear off the gun. The woman's grip slackened. Yang tore the rifle from her hands, took a firm hold of the barrel, Spun and smashed the butt of the weapon across the woman's face. It hit so hard the butt shattered into a hundred pieces from the force of the blow. The man had stumbled out of his chair and was desperately trying to turn his fall into a confident roll. Yang had to admit he was doing a fair job of it; he managed to roll well and draw a pair of revolvers from his hip as he rose. Yang ducked and dodged away from his errant shots before hefting the rifle and flinging it at him, He caught it instead of shooting it.

_Big mistake._ Yang thought, firing Ember Celica at the over-charged power pack in the weapon. It exploded, no doubt, breaking the man's aura and leaving him unconscious. _And alerting the rest of them to what's going on here._

Yang walked over to the woman still holding her head and moaning in pain, her free hand was reaching for her scroll. Yang snatched it up from her and flipped the screen open. She set a call for the first important-looking contact, the smaller dark woman.

"Cadet Alta! You were specifically told to maintain radio silence while we're out here" she whispers shouted into the radio. _Cadet Alta_ made a slight moan reaching for the phone Yang swatted the hand away and tipped the woman over with her foot. “Cadet Answer me if this is a butt dial I swear.”

"Cadet Alta can't come to the phone right now, she's nursing a mild concussion," Yang said cheerily into the phone. There was a long pause on the other end.

“Who is this?” the Sargent or captain or whatever asked.

"I think you can guess at who I am" Yang walked over to the smoke, took hold of the green-haired cadet's ankle and dragged him back to rest next to Cadet Alta. She pressed her foot against his weak knee until it popped, and his screams filtered up into the scroll. "The score is 2 nothing. It would be best if you got back here before the Grimm did, I sorta broke your Atlessian knights."

"We'll find you, you bitch, bet on that! I'll burn you-" with that Yang closed the scroll. She took her time looting through the camp, grabbing as much food, dust shards, and ammo as she could, even grabbed one of the rifles in case she got creative. Mostly she lingered to give these Atlas idiots a better chance at survival.

After about 7 minutes and a full account of her new resources, only then did Yang leave a small bug and book it as fast as she could. She had quite the haul, Ammo, dust, close range radios, tripwire, enough gear to turn this ruined city into a boobytrap filled wonderland. Hopefully, that would keep her mind occupied and her team well away.

“Let the games begin”


	46. Cat and mice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The games have begun in mountain Glen and Yang is ready for them all.

Sergeant Merope was having none of this, this simple hunt was fast turning into a shit-show and to make matters worse Clegen was going to get on her arse about it. She looked up at the giant slab of Mantle meat, he looked back through his visor and said nothing. That silence was a blessing, Merope knew that when this was all over he'd nag her till their tour was done, but Clegen for all his faults was a consummate soldier.

When she got the call from their target _That bitch!_ Clegen said nothing. When they made it back to camp to see that their Target had ruined their knight support, stole their supplies and incapacitated their rookies, Clegen said nothing. When another Atlas dropship had to be diverted from supplying another search party to pick up their wounded, Clegen said nothing.

And now that they were back on the hunt he was as taciturn as ever, his mind focused on the mission ready to back whatever play Merope decided to go with. He was a perfect subordinate when on the job and unhealthily mocking when off it.

He nodded back to her and they continued what felt like another pointless search. Checking on her downed men had taken time and was rather pointless as far as Merope was concerned, anyone could see that they both would need a hospital stat, getting their diagnostics at base camp before calling in an evac was a waste of time. In fact, it was an hour and thirty-five minutes worth of waste. 

Since the dropship had lifted off and an order of resupply with it had been sent out Merope and her squad of 6 had been methodically sweeping each and every building the target might be hiding in. Squad groups keeping in pairs as it swept each and every room and crawl space. It was monotonous work, all planned out at base camp; they'd start from the easternmost point and begin sweeping west towards where the bulk of their forces were. If they were spotted ahead of time who cares, the target could run, flee from them, right into the jaws of the Atlas military.

It was a good plan, but it did little to mitigate Merope’s ire as she kicked open a ruined door and she and Clegen swept it only to find that it was, like the last hundred, clear.

“Clear” Clegen said in his low Rumble.

“Clear” Merope echoed him. 2 clicks came over her comm-bead alerting her that the other groups had also cleared their rooms. They returned to the hall with the other pairs and continued the sweep.

“Where is she dammit?” the team Dedicated Marksman hissed through clenched teeth, evidently just as frustrated as Merope. “She’s fucking with us”

"Probably calling her Grimm-buddies to set up an ambush for us," the Explosives expert said only half-joking. The Target's legend had spread through the ranks since the Vytal festival incident and sometimes Merope wondered if that legend was infamous or just famous.

“Quiet the both of you or you’ll bring the Grimm yourselves” she spat back at them and Clegen gave them a reproving look. They climbed a set of stairs that were half rubble and were presented with another hallway.

“Sweep and clear, the usual” Merope whispered over the comms.

They were in an apartment building, with little homes that were once happy inhabited places but now only had evidence of lives that were suddenly snatched by the fetid Grimm. This room was no different, rubble over the floor, a little stone island in the kitchen and a small window, they were on the third story and could see a fair distance. Merope and Clegen swept the corners.

“Clear” Clegen said, as Merope noticed the bathroom door. She motioned towards it and nodded.

“Cle-” Merope began to say as she took a step towards the door and was greeted with a soft _click_ as her foot hit the ground. “fuck”

Clegen heard the click as well and instinctually he started to move toward Merope, she stopped him with a raised hand.

“Careful we don’t know how many more are in here” She brought her finger up to her comm-bead and pressed it. “E-tech, need you to clear out the others and come look at a mine I have under me”

"Roger!" the Explosives expert replied. This was strange it was the first booby-trap they'd encountered yet in their pursuit it had been such smooth sailing thus far that she had gotten careless, let her frustration drive her. This bomb was almost slid under her foot as she reached her peak of fed-up-with-this-shit attitude.

She gestured to Clegen, sure not to shift her weight too much. “Clegen, retrace your steps back, show the E-tech where you stepped and get out of here”

“Got it boss” his basso tones replied.

It wasn't long before the Explosives technician was awkwardly squatted next to Merope gently pushing out the rubble, to find the mine underneath Merope’s foot. The whole situation was particularly stressful, which was why the rest of the squad were on Grimm-duty on the lower levels.

“Yield?” Merope asked as if she were wondering about the weather tomorrow, you need to keep calm and keep the Grimm at bay.

"Low Yield, could kill an unaura’d person but at most it’ll damage your aura.” That was both good news and bad news, it meant Merope could just take the brunt of it and move on, but that she couldn't take all these hits forever.

“Can you disarm it?” Merope asked not looking at the E-tech, glancing down would offset her balance and set it off. The tech scratched his head while Merope focused her attention on the window, trying to spot the Atlas Airships in the sky.

_Oh, I'll get you for this Bitch_. She thought and that thought brought her calm.

“Maybe, it’s all cobbled together, kinda haphazardly, but I think I can.” He stood up and Merope turned towards him, the E-tech stretched out his back grunting from all the squatting he’d been doing. “Unless you just want to muscle on through it Sarge?”

“Not on your life private!” she grinned at him and he chuffed back before squatting back down, Merope was about to turn back to the calming window when something caught her eye, crouched in the bathroom doorway was a tiny Ursa. Merope had to resist the urge to spring away, to shout or to even turn herself towards the beast. If she told the E-tech he might flinch and get them both injured.

It just stood there crouched looking at them, then the adrenaline died down and the details started to filter into Merope’s brain, it had blonde hair, exposed arms of corded muscle and Human red eyes behind that mask.

_That bitch!_ Merope Thought as her target lifted her shotgun gauntlet right at her and fired.

* * *

**Clegen**

The boom upstairs was loud, it shook the dust from the ceiling around Clegen and the rest of his remaining squad. They all stared up towards the room that SGT. Merope had last been in and Clegen felt the dread inside each one of them. The black smoke of some recently downed creeps was mixing with the dust and the whole affair was getting emotionally upsetting, Clegen didn’t need to be an empath to read the room.

_Keep them focused on the mission and off their emotions._ Sometimes he thought that the emotionless automatons were blessed with their lack of a human soul. He lifted his fist and gestured for his men to arm up and follow after him in an orderly fashion, they needed to make sure that Merope and the E-Tech were ok.

The rest of the squad formed up, weapons at the ready as they marched up the staircase. More noise and scuffling reach their ears as they marched. Something more than an explosion was going down, he raised 2 fingers into the air.

_Double-time!_

They cleared the 2nd-floor landing and were greeted with an emerald green glow-stick waiting for them in the main hallway, the dust was thicker here, almost opaque and the scuffling noise had ceased. Clegen could hear the guns of the soldiers around him shaking in their grips as they eyed the doorway. The shaking worsened when a noise struck their ears

_Footsteps._ Clegen’s own hands had begun to shake so he took in a deep breath and steadied himself and focused on what he could hear, he wasn’t like the specialists or huntsmen, he might have had an aura but he couldn’t figure out how to focus it or nothing. But he was a damn good listener and as he listened, he could hear something or somethings being dragged across the floor. Then it emerged from the doorway.

Stepping into the green light the Target, looked every part the Grimm; the Grimm mask, the burning red eyes, and the black clothes. Clegen could almost see the fear sweating off his men as the Grimm-woman stepped further into the hallway unafraid of the weapons trained on her. She was dragging 2 items with her: SGT Merope and the E-Tech. She just stood there in the hall staring at the Atlas soldiers all who had, admittedly shaking, guns trained on her. She took in a breath it almost sounded like a sigh.

“**That’s four!”** her voice came out a rumbling growl and his men fled, Clegen was alone. The most shameful part was he wanted to flee with them, but he was a loyal soldier and he wouldn’t leave his CO behind, especially not in the maw of a Grimm. His weapon did shake, but he kept it trained on his Target.

“Let them go” Clegen ordered through gritted teeth. The Grimm-masked woman looked up as if she’d only just noticed him standing there. And against all his expectations, she dropped Merope and the E-tech’s unconscious bodies to the ground, Merope let out a groan as her head hit the ground.

"You lost," the woman said in a softer voice. She gestured to SGT Merope. "Take’em and bug out, you're out of supplies, outgunned and if you give me a few seconds, outnumbered. Walk away! And maybe the dropship will be able to get you before the Grimm do.”

Clegen considered, though not for a very long time. He nodded, lowered his weapon, his target jerked forward and he stumbled back in shock only to hear a giggle escape her. The chuckle turned into laughter that whittled down after a bit.

“Sorry about that, always liked giving people a little jump” she took a step back into the room, waving an absent hand as she walked. “They’re all yours”

Clegen rushed toward Merope checking her, a few bruises here and there, her weapon’s magazines were missing and she was unconscious but nothing life-threatening. He turned just in time to see his target sprint right at the open window and crash through it whooping as she was flung into the air. The sight stunned him for a second but after shaking his head, he lifted Merope with one arm and the E-tech with the other and started marching downstairs alone.

_I’ll have to talk to the boys about the punishment for desertion._

* * *

**Coco Adel**

Coco Adel was a pretty experienced huntress, all things considered, She’d fought admirably during the breach, didn’t do so bad during the Vytal festival and had been hitting the heavy Grimm hard after the incident. She’d built a reputation around herself she was a huntress who took the tough missions without complaint and looked great while doing it.

She wasn't the only one who looked great, team CFVY was styling as usual as their bullhead soared over the ruined cityscape of Mountain Glenn. Velvet was in her usual brown affair, Fox had added a bit of anti-shrapnel armor to his vest and Yatsu was just rocking his light tea green. They looked like they’d just walked off the cover of huntress magazine, one of the less risqué covers that is.

“Where should we land?” she shouted over the roar of the Bullhead.

“How about over there?” Fox shouted pointing in a random direction, despite herself Coco followed the blind man’s finger only realizing her mistake after she’d already looked.

“You’re such an asshole man.” She replied punching him in the shoulder, he grinned and rolled his shoulder.

Velvet snapped a picture of the ruins from up above. She looked over _Anesidora_’s screen and heck even Coco leaned in to get a look. It was a far more complex weapon than most but at the end of the day, it was also a damn fine camera. Velvet zoomed into a tall half-built sky-scraper with solid groundwork.

“How about here?” she said with her delightful accent.

“Works for me” Coco turned to the rest of the team, pointing to the Skyscraper in the sky-line. “Alright team CFVY that’s our LZ, we’re gonna be making it our nice and cozy home for this mission, so I hope you all packed a good toothbrush, prepare to drop fellas!”

They all nodded back to her and she could see their auras start to hum as the prepared to jump. When the Bullhead was right overhead they lept, the wind rushed through Coco’s hair and she let out a whoop of excitement as the girders and stone of the building rushed up to meet her. They landed perfectly, all almost posing as they struck the dirt.

“Alright Guys fan out secure the area and let's get hunting”

“You got it Coco!” they all replied.

_Oh, what would I do without them?_

* * *

It took longer than anticipated to clear the Grimm out, mountain Glenn had always been teeming with Grimm even at the best of times, but they had eventually carved out a base of operations atop the building. Other Bullheads and dropships flitted through the air like flies over carrion, each dropping off or picking up someone on the traitor’s tail. Velvet was snapping pics of the ships and the surrounding landscape, no doubt both for her scrap-book and to give them a good starting point from which they could begin their search.

From up on the skyscraper they could see all sorts of people milling about in little pockets throughout the city; huntsmen teams here, Atlas action squads there even singular bounty hunters on the hunt. It was as mixed a party as you could hope for, dust Coco could have sworn she saw a Vale New Network helicopter land nearby.

“All this to watch us catch the traitor” Fox muttered right next to her, staring blankly, as he always did, at the skyline.

“What are you talking about? you can’t see shit” She chuckled as fox punched her in the shoulder.

“I can hear the dropships soaring through the sky idiot!” he grinned in her general direction but not strickly at her, Coco had gotten used to his lack of sight very quickly. “Sides VNN has a great Radio station, can’t wait to listen to them singing our praise.”

"Would be a nice change of pace?" Coco said with more than a hint of bitterness, the media in Vale, dust in all of Remnant, had not been kind to the students of Beacon following the Vytal festival incident. They always seemed to forget that the savior of Vale Pyrrha freakin Nikos was also a Beacon student, no they credit that to Sanctum academy. Beacon and it’s students get hit with the stain of brutal, psychopaths courtesy of one Yang Xiao Long.

Needless to say, Coco, team CFVY and most of Beacon were not happy with such an association.

_The difference is I'm going to set this right_. Coco’s fist tightened around her handbag _Gianduja_ so hard she was worried she cracked a knuckle. Coco turned towards the Rabbit Faunus who was staring intently at her camera.

“What is it Hunny-bun?” she asked teasingly, she also made a conscious effort to loosen her grip on her machine-gun handbag. Velvet did not lookup. "Velvet?"

Velvet just tilted the camera towards Coco and what Coco saw did make her jaw drop open. Standing in the concrete of the building staring straight at them was a blonde-haired woman wearing a Grimm-mask. She looked as if she’d been looking straight up at Velvet through the Camera. It was damn unsettling.

“Oh she's trying to start something isn't she?" Coco said, looking down at the part of the city where Yang had previously been. "Team suit up, we've got a Rendezvous with the traitor, let's show these Atlas posers how Beacon brings in a criminal."

* * *

It didn’t take them long, Yang was leaving behind a considerable trail as team CFVY tracked her through the ruins of Mountain Glenn. Had this been anyone else the trap would have been easily activated, but Coco was no fool and neither was her team. Though it was becoming increasingly tricky, Boobytraps of all sorts were laced everywhere and half of them looked of Atlas make.

_What the hell? Did Atlas set this up? Has she already made a thorough map of their little pitfalls?_ Coco thought as her heeled foot caught onto a tripwire and she fell forward only to be caught by Fox.

"Thanks, Fox"

Fox smiled looking past her before stooping down to where she would have fallen and poked the floor, the rubble rumbled and caved in falling down a deep pit no doubt heading into the unter-city below mountain Glenn. The Unter-city was rather infamous, and with the low light down there, it would put both Yatsuhashi and Coco at a disadvantage.

_But Fox and Velvet will be completely at home._ Coco thought. _I doubt Yang brought night vision goggles with her._

“Think she went down there?” Fox asked nodded towards the general direction of the hole.

"No," Coco said after a while. "I think she'd using it to get around faster but I don’t think she’s down there. Keep an eye out for any other entrances to the Unter-city though.”

* * *

They’d been on Yang’s trail for 45 minutes when her first strike came. The worst part was what they hadn’t heard. One second they were just in a dark alleyway, at night alone and then Suddenly Yang was there, silent as the Grave shoulder-checking Fox. She blitz attacked him, with her shoulder buried right into Fox’s the solar plexus, followed vicious right hook right into his left temple, before she swept his legs out from under him. And like that she was off once more.

Coco barely had time to shift _gianduja_ into Minigun form, by then Yang was already bounding away through the darkened streets. Fox staggered for a few seconds, clearly shocked and stunned from the Sudden attack before falling to his knees.

_His aura wasn’t raised. _Coco realized, they’d been in pursuit of Yang for a while now and every booby trap they'd encountered either was spotted ahead of time or had a delayed reaction so that Aura activation was possible before any damage was done. _She lulled us into relaxation. Bitch!_

“Alright team Aura up!” Coco shouted. Fox Gripped his chest and wheezed in a breath, his aura flashing around him.

_Dammit, he's out of it!_ Coco thought before motioning for Velvet to join her.

“Yatsu watch Fox till he’s back to Full Strength, Velvet you’re with me” Coco didn’t need to see Yatsuhashi’s response, she knew her team would stick by her orders and soon she and Velvet were in hot pursuit.

“Team SSSN gave a combat-report on Yang, remember what it was?” Coco asked not breaking stride being sure to make careful sweeps of each and every corner since apparently, Yang was now moving soundlessly. "Was moving silently in those reports?"

“No, guess she’s got a few more tricks up her sleeves.” Velvet answered, running ahead of Coco, also making more detailed visual scans of each and every corner. Velvet's Faunus sight made her the ideal point man, Coco was just double-checking her partner's fantastic work. "Sun said, she's got explosive types of dust, target's knees-"

Coco couldn’t help but scoff at that, and Velvet gave her a less amused nod.

“-Her aura focus skill set is comparable to Sage’s that or her aura’s increased massively over the past 2 years.”

"What do you think?" Coco asked kicking open an adjacent door and giving the empty room a quick sweep. She always valued Velvet's tactical input a good leader should always consider subordinates.

“I think we should assume it’s a little of both, just to be on the safe side” Velvet Answered loading an Ice dust shard into her camera. “Oh and she’ll try for emotional targets as well”

"Well, that shouldn't work since we never hung out that much" Coco laughed as they stepped into a set of crossroads. "Although hitting Fox the way she did, did get my blood pumping."

Then a flash of Yellow appeared in Coco’s eye and she saw her, running through the streets away from the pair. It didn’t take long for Coco to charge her dust rounds with her semblance: _Hype_ and start firing at the target. Enhanced by _Hype _The bullets were flying twice as fast and twice as hard at the Traitors retreating backside And yet Yang kept dodging and ducking out of the way of the shots as they sailed at her.

“Velvet!” Coco shouted. The Bunny Faunus focused her aura to her legs grabbed into her camera and ran off after the target. Yang was ducking and diving, moving incredibly nimbly and she skirted by Coco’s rain of bullets but Velvet was fast overtaking her.

Pulling her hands away from her camera Velvet drew out a net of blue light dust and Flung it at The traitor. Yang rolled away from the net but in that instant, she was knocked off balance by a barrage of _Grainduja’s _Dust ammo, she skidded with her momentum and crashed into a wall denting it.

"Cross-hairs!" Coco shouted sheathing her minigun and running up to Coco, focusing her aura on her semblance. Velvet readied herself focusing the Ice dust into her light net-construct when Coco reached her and gave her a smack on the rear, the power of _Hype _coursing through Velvet and into the dust she was utilizing. Velvet made a slight Yip before spinning and flinging her _Hype_ enhanced dust net right at the slowly rising Yang.

The net struck the traitor and imbedded itself in the walls swiftly growing a layer of ice crystals on and around the Blonde. Yang’s aura fought against the ice but all she could do was press herself deeper against the wall as the Net turned into a cage of ice crystals. Coco let out an exhausted breath before sauntering up to the restrained Yang.

“Nice hustle out there Velvet," She said, loading a few more rounds back into her mini-gun and she meant it, the capture went off perfectly. Velvet planted her feet right next to Yang and leaned down to look at her, she was just as the wanted broadcasts had described her; A Grimm mask atop her head, Grimm Ember Celica on her wrists, a dark black tank top hid the girls from view and a constant glare was on her face. “I’d say its good to see you Yang but I hate to lie in front of team-mates”

The traitor just glared at Coco and stopped her struggling against the ice crystals.

"You've had us tail you for a couple of hours now what gives?" Still no answer. Coco stood up stretching her back to show her dispassionate opinion of Yang's silence. "Aren't you supposed to be giving me some junk about how I stabbed you in the back? How my team are losers? Something to get a rise out of me?"

Again she got nothing. Coco sighed.

_You know what might as well play her game if she isn’t going to_. Coco thought.

“You know Yang for a second there, after you got captured I was actually on your side," Coco said in a sympathetic voice. "I thought I was seeing shit too when I went up against Mercury and Emerald"

“Coco?” Velvet said.

“But the difference was I didn’t have a mental breakdown and drag the whole school’s reputation through the mud!” Coco Snarled at the restrained Yang who’s face only showed shock.

“Coco!” Velvet Reprimanded.

“No!” Coco shot back pointing a finger in Yang’s face. “This Traitor has spent the last 2 years whining about her suffering not giving a damn what it did to the rest of the school, and now she’s flaunting it for all of Vale to see” Coco stooped down to look Yang eye to eye. “So Ms. Tough-girl, How’d you like our team attack?”

Then Yang smiled and Winked at her and her eye turned from Red to pink.

"It's got a great name!" a voice shouted from Further down the Alley, Coco and Velvet whirled towards the noise only to see Yang stretched out in a runner's ready position, her fingernails dug into the asphalt like claws and a Grimm smokey darkness surrounding her. “But not much power.”

Suddenly the Restrained Yang form shattered and a Small pink, white and brown woman slithered out of the ice-net like a snake shedding its skin.

“**Baked Alaska!” **Rumbled from behind Yang's mask before she shot-out like a shell from a tank.

* * *

**Bounty Hunter**

_This ain’t gonna be a quick job but it is gonna be a rewarding one._ Loholt thought as he placed yet another, moderately illegal piece of tech on another roof, he opened up his scroll, the signal was crap here but he was able to pick up his sonic disruptors scattered throughout the broken city. He smiled all 8 of them were registering green and ready to go, and all sonic disruptors were pointed towards the shopping mall, the shopping mall that the bounty was last seen heading towards.

How Loholt got to know that despite not being apart of the Atlas military structure, isn't something they'd be concerned with once he brought this subject in. Honestly, Loholt was banking on them overlooking a few things not the least being his hacking into the Atlas military coordination channel.

_But they never really cared how the job got done so long as it’s done._ Loholt tapped the disruptor with his little Warhammer and took a deep breath as it finally clicked green and started to hum. The damn things cost a fortune and were what some people would call “Highly experimental” and “goddamn illegal”.

What the boombox-shaped things were was something called Grimm Agitators. Some mad egg head up in Atlas had looked for a way to calm the Grimm with some sort of Sonic harmony and had accidentally ended up with the opposite effect. With what people had said about this scientist though Loholt figured he may have gotten the side-effect he was after. After that nerd vanished suddenly the blueprints ended up online for anyone to try and Make, and anyone in the field to buy.

Would have been pointless when hunting Grimm since all it did was piss them off, but when a target was buried deep in Grimm territory and “brought back alive” was more of a suggestion, they were damn effective.

_When they fuckin work that is._ Loholt thought to himself, watching the Mall, till he saw a flash of Golden hair through one of the windows. Loholt smiled, The bounty was right where he wanted her, and there were plenty of Ursa in that mall with her. _Just gotta let the Ursa’s do the work then, I’ll swoop in and finish the job._

Somedays he could get gruesome but hey Morals don't put food on the table. He pressed the button on his scroll and the Boomboxes started thrumming a low beat that seemed harmonious enough. It took a second but soon he heard it the telltale sound of Ursa roars, he smiled, he’d lure them out with tree sap soon enough and then snatch up his bounty. He idly tossed the jar of sap when another noise hit his ear; a human scream.

Well, it was mostly human, it was a scream that had the vague hints of humanity to it but was overshadowed by the noise of screaming Grimm. Although victorious Loholt felt a chill run through his spine to mix with and spoil his victory.

_Got Yah. _He thought, grabbing hold of his Warhammer and flinging the jars of Sap this way and that so that acquiring his target wouldn't require fighting through a legion of Ursa.

It took a second for Loholt to clear his mind as he waited for the Ursa’s to exit, he knew a few would be drawn to the scent of the sap, but the bigger more mature creatures would stay inside far more invested in the kill. But Ursa could be handled, and so long as they weren’t Alphas they could usually be outrun. The few that remained would be worth the effort if it meant he could cash in this bounty.

The hallways and thoroughfare of the abandoned mall were as dark and as dreary as could be if Loholt were the type of person to linger on such things. He was sure that if he thought about the empty toy store, the creeps in the dried fountain and the signs reading 'Daycare' he'd have trouble sleeping for a few nights. Instead, he blocked those images from his sight, kept his ear to the ground and listened. It took a few tries and drew him close to one too many Ursa but eventually, he heard it; the sound of flesh being eaten.

He couldn't bring himself to grin, the situation was a little too grim despite the enormous payday that was heading his way, the idea of a human being being eaten was always disturbing. He turned the corner towards a sporting goods store and saw them, piles of Ursa’s shifting into Black smoke where they’d been slain. He tightened his grip on the Warhammer.

His bounty was tough and had managed to take a few of the bastards with her before she died, but the few that remained must have been some beasts. The chewing noise got louder. He saw it a huge dark shape shaking slightly as it tore into something, it was a big Ursa. Loholt reached for his scroll, a small blip of the Grimm-agitator might be enough to pain the Grimm with it’s agitating waves and grant him enough time to zoom in and take out its knees. After that, all he'd have to do is collect his bounty.

He blipped the scroll. A loud shriek echoed in the room and the big black shape fell to the ground, the Ursa already turning into smoke. Standing where the Ursa had been a moment ago was his Target, White mask on her head, Grimm gauntlets on her wrist and a chunk of smoking Ursa flesh in her jaws.

“**AHHHHHHH!!!” **She cried as her red eyes stared daggers at Loholt. Unconsciously he pressed the button again and the noise stopped. The woman was breathing hard and fast as she stared through him. “That Hurt!”

“Uh…” Loholt struggled for words and the uninjured bounty’s red Grimm-like eyes twitched at him, the dust? her fingernails had grown too they were like Ursa claws. Loholt then noticed just how many dead Ursas there’d been and he felt a twinge of fear. “…Sorry”

“It's like a shot of Adrenaline pushed right through the eye without anesthetic," she said through tight teeth, Before taking a shuddering breath. “Drop the scroll and leave, don’t run or instinct might take over, just walk away.”

The Scroll hit the ground and Loholt made tracks, he prayed that he’d get out of these ruins intact.

* * *

**Journalist: Glas gloman**

Glas Gloman had been a reporter for the Vale news network for close to 10 years now, he was an on the scene reporter, dealing with the crazy incidents that sprung out on the people of Vale every other day. He reported on the breach, the Vytal festival incident and even did interviews with the huntsmen on the borders of beacon afterward. Glas didn't get the cushier interviews with Beacon teachers or Atlas officials or most of the run of the mill stuff, more often than not he was thrown into dangers path and told to make a story out of it.

Glas often thought that his boss just hated his guts, mainly because he lacked an Aura. And as adventurous as he was, he would have greatly preferred to have an invisible forcefield surrounding him while he was on duty. Hence the armed escort for him and his cameraman.

"Are you alright sir?" the Atlas soldier asked him once more, eliciting a groan from his less than a professional cameraman.

_The new blood lacks professionalism it seems. _Glas thought, turning back to the officer his chest locked tight within his body armor. It was a tightness he'd long since become accustomed to.

“Perfectly alright” he responded all professional smiles, though it was getting harder and harder to pull off as the day went on. This hadn’t been the first building they’d swept, dusty it hadn’t been the 10th. Now and then Glas would ask one of the soldiers a question regarding Ms.Xiao-Long and they’d give him some half-hearted answer that told him one thing.

They were scared witless. Glas had to figure that made sense, few people were able to get out of Atlas’ clutches and actively mock them on live television. Plus there were… other rumors as well the kind parents were supposed to tell their kids at night to keep them well behaved.

The Sergeant raised his fist and the line of soldiers stopped in their tracks, Glas stopped though his cameraman bumped into him; not paying enough attention. The room was quiet then a bit of dust fell off the ceil and a tiny footstep could be head upstairs, not loud enough to be Grimm.

The Sergeant made some quick motions with his hands and his crew started to move out, in formation, the Atlas soldier turned to Glas and the Cameraman.

“You two better stay here” he whispered. Glas nodded back, this wasn’t the first time an off noise had sent them after something and left the press behind, this would likely be more of the same. “She’s about 2 floors up, you’ll be safe here”

The Atlessians ascended the nearest staircase and headed upward. It was about a minute before the first shots rung out. The Cameraman flinched at the noise while Glas merely lifted an eyebrow.

“Phillipe” Glas said looking around finally spotting another set of stairs a bit further into the building. “Start rolling.”

“It’s Filis" he said powering the camera on and removing the cap. “Didn’t they tell us to sit back?”

“They recommended it, they didn’t command it” Glas pointed out switching on his mike marching towards the extra set of steps, Filis following in lockstep behind him. "Start rolling"

There was Rubble everywhere, the floor was almost impossible to see as the two of them picked their way through the building and up the staircase. The further they climbed up the louder the shotgun shells and laser retorts sounded. They had only climbed to the middle floor again seeing Rubble strewn all over the floor when the sounds abruptly stopped. Glas and the cameraman froze, Filis was shaking.

“The sounds of battle have ceased” Glas whispered into the mic. “We’re going to progress further up to get a better picture of whats-“

Glas lifted his foot and was about to take a step when a shape flew out of a nearby set of stairs, hands raised palms out. The shape had a Grimm mask and was cloaked in a ragged kimono tailored with Grimm-bone markings, a noted favorite of the Mistralians. She was looking right at Glas.

“Stop! Don’t move!” She snarled and Glas dutifully froze mid-step. Filis let out a little shriek and froze as well. “Good”

Then Glas saw something strange, the Grimm-masked woman started walking towards him, stepping daintily around the rubble that littered the floor it what seemed like a rather odd pattern, until she was within arm’s reach of him. Then she bent down and shifted the rubble away from where Glas had been about to set his foot. Beneath the dust and the rubble was a small mechanical shape, with red dusty shells poking out of it. Glas had reported on enough White fang attacks to recognize an I.E.D when he saw one.

The woman turned a nob on the small bomb before throwing it into a pocket in her kimono.

"Wouldn't want reporter bits to splatter all over the place?" she said with an evident grin before lifting her mask further up her head to expose her face. It was a pretty face, filled with a life and energy that few people naturally possessed. She extended her hand towards Glas. “Yang Xiao Long”

Glas took her hand in his own. “Glas Gloman” he replied, giving the hand a firm squeeze, Yang squeezed back it was the type of handshake that was strong but not overly forceful, though Glas could tell that she could rip his arm clear out of its socket if she wanted to.

Yang looked past him at Filis then down the hallway.

“I’m actually amazed you both made it this far”

“How do you mean?”

Yang pointed down the hallway and stairs. “That entire way is crisscrossed with my dust-bombs.”

Glas felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, he turned back towards where he'd come from focusing on the ground and sure enough if he looked carefully he could see, the glint of dust crystals peeking out from crevasses and cracks on the floor. He gulped audibly.

“Just lucky I guess”

"Well come on I'll lead you, fellas, out of here," Yang said jumping past him and Filis and again daintily walking down the hall. “Follow my steps exactly.”

They did, and if Glas was being honest with himself he too was amazed that he'd survived up until this point, the damn building was crisscrossed with booby-traps be they landmine or tripwires. He wondered if he had some sort of good luck semblance without even knowing it, and without an aura to power it. Only once did he trip only for Yang to shout out a hand and catch him before he fell face-first onto a fire dust mine.

"Thanks," Glas said as Yang gripped the back of his shirt before pulling him up.

“Don’t mention it” Yang said in that calm casual way that the sporty popular girls always did; with a confidence that you would mention it and often. “We’re just one more step then we’re in the clear.”

Glas was thankful to step foot on safe ground once more. Yang wagged a finger in his face.

“Yer Atlas boys will probably be down in a few minutes. So don’t wander off again alright?” Yang gave Glas and Filis a gracious deep bow before turning and starting to walk away.

“WAIT!” Glas shouted at her louder than intended. Yang paused in her walking, turning her head back was a gleeful glint in her eye as if she’d expected Glas to try and stop her. Glas cleared his throat. "W-w-would it be possible to get an interview? You know to get your side of things?"

Glas knew that Filis hadn’t shut off the camera since they ventured up the stairs, and no matter what Ms.Xiao-Long said he'd have more than enough footage to make himself famous if he snagged this interview he'd be a household name. Ms.Xiao-Long stood there for a few seconds, considering his offer. She looked up at the upper floor of the building no doubt where Glas’ Atlas escort team was busy recovering.

"Alright ask your questions," She said resting her fist on her hip and giving him a sharp grin. "I'm all yours"

* * *

**Specialists**

It was already going to hell in a handbasket. Atlas’ plan of a huge sweeping motion throughout the settlement had gone downhill, once it became known that she was utilizing the unter-city for transport. The searching through each building was met with a string of increasingly more numerous booby traps. The Bounty hunters were bringing in illegal tech that was endangering the lives of Atlas personnel. The Huntsmen and huntresses all seemed to have a bone to pick with the Target and were ignoring Atlas orders.

"It's a madhouse" Clover Ebi muttered his finger brushing against his good luck pin. He missed Ace ops and their operations in Atlas but when the General calls the general calls. Now he was a leading member of the Tyr-Operations-unit the specialists of specialists. Each squad within the unit combined a group of people specifically tailored to deal with a certain target and he was considered a favorite for any of those squads.

A Hulking giant with a dust empowered giant flail approached Clover as he stared out over the city, his name was Bremer and he’d been a part of the very first retrieval mission.

"The reports have been correlated boss," Bremer said in that strange falsetto voice of his, which was made all the stranger by the thick neck protectors blocking the view of his mouth. "Nothing concrete yet but We're hopeful."

"We might be the only ones" Clover answered only half-joking, the morale had been declining since this hunt had begun, it was one target in an enormous city, and the target was by no means a chump. That low morale had brought in more Grimm.

“I wouldn’t say that” Bremer piped up nodding towards the true leader of this expedition, Clover took a deep breath. “She seems more than giddy with this turn of events”

The Fall maiden was kneeling in a meditative position looking over the city a distant look on her face as her cadre of swords floated behind her in an ever-expanding halo of blades. She took a deep breath in and her eyelids fluttered like she'd smell the sweet scent of victory already. For all his luck Clover felt unlucky to have been given this assignment. It would be difficult to hold her back or cover up whatever mistakes she made, it would take some serious luck for that to work.

_I suppose that’s why they picked me then_.

“Has Neon returned from the scouting mission yet?” he asked Bremer who shook his head. “when she does we’ll-”

“when she does” the fall maiden interrupted him, her eyes opening wide and turning back to both Clover and Bremer staring through them with her different colored eyes. “We move out.”

Clover wanted to protest, say that more grunts on the ground would be an asset they could utilize, he wanted to say setting out without analyzing Neon’s information was vastly premature. He wanted to say this but knew better.

_You can’t rely on good luck, you have to temper it with skill and a good team… and you have to know when not to pick a fight._

"Understood," he said inclining his head to the fall maiden.

“Good” she purred and a fire lit behind her eyes. “You may survive us yet”


	47. Further Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang has a chance to take stock, Clover deals with all issues, The Stranger receives orders from their higher ups

**Yang**

Yang’s heart was pounding in her skull beating a tune like a mad drum, she was alive as she could be. No longer was she on the run, she was making the rules now. The Atlas grunts were falling into her traps, the Beacon students were on the run from her and the bounty hunters could feel her baying at their heels. She stood in the unter-city of mountain glen, inside a buried metro station taking a deep gulping breath as exhaustion threatened to ruin her good time.

Looking over her latest haul she saw the cache of Atlas weapons tech she'd commandeered from those unfortunate enough to get in her path. It was an alright haul; 3 Atlas pulse rifles, 12 dust mags, 3 light-dust grenades, and a fragmentation grenade. The more gear she got the more equipment she'd have to work within making this as big a free-for-all as she possibly could.

Yang was just checking out one of the Magazines when she heard the scraping of a blade on concrete, she turned and looked at Neo who seemed to be having almost as much fun as Yang. She’d be having more fun if Yang had allowed her to cut loose, dust a voice in Yang’s head told her that she’d have more fun herself if she went all out.

“Yeah yeah Neo I know you want to leave a few bodies, but!” Yang pointed a finger at the diminutive assassin. “We have to make this loss a total one, I beat them in the field and in public opinion.”

Yang hoped that the interview she'd given would make it through whatever Atlas censorship-field had been erected around mountain Glenn. Yang chose not to worry it would get out one way or another. Neo made a pouty face at Yang, but it swiftly shattered away into her devious grin, a grin Yang matched. Yang was, for the most part, enjoying herself. She was getting a level of satisfaction out of hunting those hunting her, building a profile for what to do with them and then executing that plan.

_Though it hadn’t always gone to plan!_ Yang thought to herself rather bitterly. That Bounty hunter had brought strange experimental Grimm agitators and they had driven nails into Yang's mind, set the Grimm part of her rabid. She'd destroyed all but one of those devices and it had taken every fiber of her will not to hunt him down and rip him apart with her bare hands. 

Yang blew out a breath just remembering the pain that those things had brought with them. At the end of the day, she was happy with her mission and her company, both provided focus in her life. Or well both helped her focus on a much-needed distraction. Yang had kept them from her mind well enough, running through sewers, metro tunnels and Grimm infested apartments are excellent ways to occupy your mind.

Pressing a button on her scroll Yang illuminated a map of mountain Glenn, tiny red dots teeming all over it, she set the map down on the ground and knelt in front of it. Neo lounged across a Metro fare station, looking at it almost bored.

“Atlas seems to have quit on their whole sweeping tactic” Yang commented shifting a few red dots across the screen, originally, they had been organized in a crescent shape but now they were in clumps together each at a different point of the city map. “They’re keeping together in larger numbers, huddling against the danger. I wonder what the Vale News Network will do with that little fact.”

Yang grinned at Neo who was fiddling with some sort of scroll game. Yang let out an exasperated sigh, this was common for Neo she’d half pay attention to the mission briefing then would be lethally efficient in the field. Yang picked up a Flashbang grenade and tossed it to the lounging assassin who caught it without looking up from her scroll.

“By the way, nice Baked Alaska back there” Neo still didn’t look up, but she did smile at the compliment, their luring of Velvet and Coco had been perfect and left them in a condition where further pursuit was not exactly an option. "We're probably gonna need it soon"

That got the ice-cream girl’s attention. She looked up and Yang gestured not to the board but to the scroll itself. Reaching down and pressing a few key buttons a recorded message started playing, she’d picked it up on one of her many bugs in the system.

“The fall maiden’s coming here?” a voice on the audio asked. Neo immediately sat up her eyes locked on the screen now.

“That’s right” another voice answered.

“Great does that mean we can pull out now” and with that Yang reach forward and tapped the scroll again. She turned towards her assassin friend who was busy tapping her finger’s against _Hush’s_ handle. Yang focused into her mask and took a deep breath.

_She’s one-part fear and two parts excitement._ Yang noted glad to see that Neo was at least on the same wavelength as her regarding this rather frightening development.

“Yeah I want to go a few rounds with her too” Yang answered Neo’s unasked question. “But all we have to do is lure her into the city then contact mom.”

Neo frowned before shrugging her shoulders in acquiescence. The Grimm inside Yang growled low and Yang had to focus to prevent that rumbling from reaching her own lips, The thought of fighting Pyrrha held a small bit of excitement, but she knew better, Pyrrha was a beast back in their beacon days, able to take on 4-on-1 without even flinching but with the fall maiden powers in her, there was a new level of danger Yang wasn't completely prepared for.

_Who could be?_ Yang thought absent-mindedly, as she walked towards the base's Atlas issued electronic sleeper, slinking into an Atlas issued sleeping bag, but not before taking a bite of some Atlas issued field rations. _Thank dust for Atlas quartermasters._

Yang chuckled to herself imagining the frustrating amount of paperwork that would have to be filled out regarding all her stolen equipment. They’d have to figure out a useful keyboard shortcut for it, Yang hoped they’d go with CTRL-F-U.

“Hey Neo wake me if anyone shows up, or the Grimm come down, or we get spotted or whatever, just don’t wake me up to talk” Yang grinned at the little assassin girl who merely stuck out her tongue at the resting blonde huntress. “I will have sweet dreams thanks Neo!”

* * *

**Clover**

"This could've gone better," Clover said to himself watching the column of wounded and injured people heading towards the waiting Atlas drop ships. It was hard to get an exact number of how many there were, Clover would have to ask one of the Atlas drones for specifics, but he figured between 34 and 52 people were leaving. But 52 injures would be an acceptable number for him, so long as the death toll remained as low as it was. There had been a few deaths, but according to reports it wasn’t their target’s doing, no this was what it always was; Grimm. “But it could’ve been worse.”

"Ohhh I like your positive attitude captain!" a voice chirped from beside him, he turned to see the cat-Faunus Neon balancing herself on one roller skate, almost joyfully oblivious to the misery around her. Thankfully her happiness was less annoying these days and more infectious. “Gotta keep that ‘Stiff-upper lip’ no matter what good old top-heavy throws at us!”

Clover shook his head smiling, the rest of the crew also smiled at Neon, while she did bring up the mood, the absence of their official leader was also a boon for everyone’s attitude.

"I can only hope to match your positive outlook one-day Neon" Clover answered patting her head, getting a toothy grin from her. "After so many scouting jobs and little sign of the target, anyone-else would have gotten frustrated."

"Frustrated pfft! They just don't see how interesting this place looks" Neon gestured around her arms wide. "This place is a wonderland!"

"Except for all the pitfall, booby-traps, and Grimm, right?” Bremer inquired his high voice getting a chuckle from Neon.

“Hardly! They make it all the more fun I’d say”

That got a laugh from the Tyr-squad when an ensign approached Clover dragging a pair of men with them. One of the men Clover recognized as the reporter Glas Gloman while the other was a short stubby cameraman who was clutching the camera to his chest like his life depended on it.

_Great civilians! Vale just lets reporters go wherever they want, I guess._

Clover turned towards Neon and the rest of Tyr squad.

“Ok Neon put in the report then get some rest alright?” She gave him a crisp salute.

“You got it boss man” she returned before skating off. Clover turned just as the ensign reached him. The ensign gave him a crisp salute, the reporters were harassing him the whole time.

“I don’t need Atlessian fascists dragging me around!” Glas spat. “I know my rights in the country of Vale”

“At ease ensign, what seems to be the problem?” Clover interjected over Glas’ voice.

"That problem!" Glas cut off the Ensign. "Is that you feel the need to strip search me on my return journey to Atlas, tell me what kind of contraband could I possibly have on me?"

Clover gave him a hard look before returning his gaze to the Atlas soldier who'd already weathered this abuse. The young officer rolled his eyes implying he'd heard this all before. That cameraman still just looked scared out of his mind.

“’Strip searches’? Ensign the full cavity searches aren’t scheduled until tomorrow” Clover answered trying to bring some humor to the proceedings. “But if Mr.Gloman is so insistent then I guess we can adjust the schedule”

That got a wide-eyed response from Mr.Gloman who for once seemed at a loss for words, the cameraman and the Ensign chuckled.

"Now what's the problem?" Clover demanded, cutting Gloman off as he opened his mouth, making it clear that the question wasn't for him to answer.

“He won’t let us examine the camera’s footage” the ensign answered his voice very quiet and low, made all the quieter by comparison to Gloman’s shouting. “Atlas security needs to check all footage before it’s allowed back”

"Or what you're going to leave me here if I don't cooperate!?" Gloman snapped

Clover pinched the bridge of his nose and focused on his semblance, hoping that with a little luck this would be sorted quickly.

“Mr. Gloman you signed a contract with the Atlas military, allowing you to tag along”

“I- “

"Said contract contained a few caveats! As you well-read" Clover interrupted. "Unless you just signed the release form without reading it, which while unfortunate does not strip you from your obligations that you agreed too"

“but- “

“So if you aren’t willing to let us examine the file, then we’ll be forced to take the camera, all the footage and place you under arrest” Clover rested his hand on his hip and looked down on the small aura-less man. “You don’t get to just back out of a contract, sir!”

Clover was aware of how threatening he’d appeared at that moment, he was taller than Gloman and far taller than his cameraman, He was stronger than both of them, was armed and had that little energy shield that kept him safe… while they did not. He knew he was coming off as far more frightening than he’d normally be comfortable with, but Clover had to. The situation was bad here, and one spark of disorder, panic or anger might set it off in the worst possible way, if the footage went back to vale and showed off anything too upsetting for not just the Vale population but the entire population of Remnant, well then Clover couldn’t in good conscious let it stand.

Slowly Gloman gave him a nod, turning towards his cameraman.

“Give it to them Filis” Gloman spat. “Let **them** have fun with it”

Gloman turned swiftly and began walking back toward where the rest of the wounded and those returning to Vale were situated. The cameraman, Filis attentively thrust the camera towards Clover, as if expecting him to take it. The Ensign instead snatched it from his hands. The man looked momentarily frightened before marching after Gloman. It was then that something caught Clover’s eye, Gloman had turned to see Filis rushing after him and was grinning, he was smiling completely at odds with his previous appearance.

_What on remnant?_ Clover started to think, when his scroll beeped, he opened it up.

“Clover here?”

“We got a problem boss” Bremer’s high voice crackled through the scroll. “The Reaper has decided to pay us a visit.”

* * *

**Ruby**

Ruby held her cloak around her shoulders tightly against the Raging wind as her eyes glazed over the landscape of Mountain Glenn. It had been a long time since she set her eyes upon it and still it filled her with a sense of dread. And nostalgia, she could remember her first mission here with her team, crammed into a ruined building with her teammates asking why they wanted to be huntresses and her pretending she wasn’t eavesdropping.

Yang had wanted to be a thrill-seeker, to see the world and to never know where she'd end up, Weiss wanted to bring honor back to her family name and company, and Blake had wanted to stop her running and fight off the injustices of the world. All great reasons, in their own way and all, left in ruins after the Vytal Festival incident. Weiss was cut off from her name, Blake had become such a recluse that the outside world was no longer her concern and Yang… Yang was seeing the world but she knew where she'd eventually end up, in the dirt or in an Atlas cell.

_Unless… _Ruby's thought was interrupted at the murmur of the Atlas specialists behind her. They were whispering about her with a mixture of fear and disdain.

Ruby never liked working with Atlas specialists, ever since that day she’d been wary of them, and they’d been wary of her. It created a desire from both parties for some distance and she’d been glad for that separation. But every once in awhile, she’d had to work with them this was one of those times.

_To an extent that is._

And of course, the big dude who almost killed Yang 2 years ago had been the specialist to greet her.

_Of course._ Ruby thought as she descended from the bullhead and was greeted by that slab of meat. Neon was there too though that left her with mixed feelings. The large man, Bremer Neon called him, did most of the talking and the questioning and now she’d been told that she’d have to wait for a captain Clover to come speak with her.

She saw him coming, marching with purpose and confidence, he was tall, had short brown hair and left his arms exposed, a strange fishing rod was strapped to his lower back and he had a peculiar pin on his left breast. He smiled at her, but she could see the stress behind the smile and the fear.

“Ms. Rose, it's a pleasure to meet you," Clover said extending his hand towards her, she declined to take it, too many semblances required physical touch to activate and she wouldn't fall for that. So instead Ruby gave him a slight nod, the captain pulled his hand back unbothered by her choice not to shake it. “I’m Captain Ebi Clover and I’m in charge of the Tyr-Squad responsible for tracking Yang Xiao Long down”

“That’s what Bremer said” Ruby answered shooting a glance behind Clover at the large brute, she could feel the fire burning behind her glaring eye and hoped Bremer felt it burn too.

“Well he’s right, I’m also responsible for overseeing who’s supposed to be in the city and who isn’t” Clover’s smile faded, and he gave her a serious look, Ruby matched it looking up at him. “I’m supposed to weed out anyone who might represent a danger to Atlas interests.”

Ruby pointedly looked over the crowd of injured Soldiers, bounty hunters and huntsmen leaving, then back to Clover.

"Must be a difficult job, I'll try not to get in your way?" Ruby said turning away from clover and starting to walk towards the ruins. Ruby heard the telltale sound of a weapon unfolding and in a second a Metal Hook was hovering in front of her face, her silver eyes shifted back to Clover, his weapon was some sort of fishing-rod with many advanced collapsible parts along its length.

“I’m sorry Ms. Rose, I can’t permit you-” Ruby moved like lightning, She ducked beneath the fishing-rod, batted it away with her folded Crescent Rose before unfolding it to its full majesty and swinging the weapon right at Clover’s neck. She stopped a hair’s breadth from his neck, the razor-sharp edge of Crescent Rose breathing against his spine. Her red cloak billowed in the wind exposing her armored huntress attire beneath, it was black, low weight and ready for the hard trek.

The other members of Tyr-Squad rushed to their weapons at Ruby’s sudden movement, but she could spot shaking hands amongst them. Clover tried appearing unimpressed, But Ruby had seen his eyes widen, and could see how tense he was.

"Since you wanted to show me your weapon, I thought I might as well show you mine," Ruby said conversationally. "I mean that's why you stuck it in my face right?"

Clover gave off a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, that’s right” his left hand moved, and the raised weapons of Tyr-Squad were lowered. He lifted the fishing rod. “This is ­_Kingfisher_ a fishing-rod and all-purpose tool, not much for one on one combat though.”

Ruby smiled genuinely interested in any weapon shown to her, she pulled back her darling scythe hefting it onto her shoulders. “And this is the famous _Crescent Rose_ a fully operational collapsible Sniper-Scythe”

Ruby Flexed her shoulders and refolded the weapon, unbothered by the many Atlas specialists looking to attack her. “And it is very good for one on one combat.”

“So, I’ve heard” Clover muttered, flanked by Neon and Bremer with a few more specialists hanging in the back all with their hands resting near or on their weapons. “I still can’t permit you to pass”

"I don't need your permission" Ruby waited a second, seeing the dumbfounded looks on most of the Tyr-Squad; all of whom had their hands back on weapons, and the tense look on Clover's face.

Then the metal girl fell from the Sky, Penny landed right next to Ruby and in an instant, all weapons were leveled at her. Ruby smiled and gestured to the Robit girl.

“I only need her’s”

“Salutations Huntsman Clover, and Huntsman Neon and Huntsmen Bremer and- “Ruby rested her hand on Penny’s shoulder and gave her a look. “Oh sorry, Salutations Tyr-Squad”

“Ms. Polendina what are you doing here?” Clover asked, eyeing Ruby.

“I’m reconnoitering with my partner for this assignment” Penny answered cheerfully. “And alerting the nearest commanding officer of a recent set of deputizations.”

“You don’t mean…” Clover trailed off. Ruby grinned at him and lifted her cloak revealing an Atlas deputy pin nestled right on her collar bone. Clover let out a deep sigh before covering his eyes with his hands. "Okay… okay okay. Penny, we talked about this; you can't just throw around deputizations on a whim"

“This wasn’t a whim!” Penny said with more force than even Ruby expected. “I am not a little girl, I’m smart enough to know who to trust with this responsibility and Ruby has proven herself on countless occasions”

There was silence as Penny put her foot down and Ruby was very impressed, resting her hand against the mechanical girl’s shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze and treating her to a warm smile.

“Thank you, Penny,” Penny grinned back at her.

"Alright," Clover said, his hands resting on his hip and the confident smile back on his face. "But her actions rest on you Penny, wouldn't want to damage that spotless record."

“Are you serious sir?” Bremer squeaked, giving his commander an incredulous look. “You’re just going to let her run rampa- “

Clover quieted him with a raised hand.

“We’re not starting a fight here”

_Smart move. _Ruby thought, happy that this didn’t have to escalate, Mountain Glenn was too dangerous a place to be squabbling.

“We’ll need every hand we can get on this mission, and besides” Clover continued turning towards Ruby. “Ms. Rose is going to hunt after her sister no matter what we say.”

_Well, he's right about that._ Ruby was fighting the urge to like this Clover fellow, he had a confidence to him, a good face and he was pragmatic. _If he’s in charge maybe there won’t be as much heads-butting._

Ruby’s hopes began to rise up until a body hit the ground in the middle of the camp with a resounding shockwave. Pyrrha slowly rose up from her crouched landing position, brushed the dust off her armor and flexed her neck. Ruby removed her hand from Crescent Rose, she'd grabbed it in surprise. It took a bit longer for the dread to vanish, ruby might've been brave and headstrong but Pyrrha always left her with fear, that Ruby was convince was completely natural.

**_Kill me!_** That phantom of a request whispered into Ruby’s ear and she tried to brush it aside and focus upon her mission.

Ruby was pleased to notice however that Clover and the rest of Tyr-Squad had also jerked their hands towards their many weapons.

_Even Atlas has a healthy fear of her._ Penny tapped Ruby's shoulder and motioned towards Pyrrha, she had to go to speak with her partner. Ruby was worried but after a second of consideration, she gave Penny a nod of approval.

_I Don’t want to get Penny into any more trouble with Atlas._ Ruby thought, watching her friend go. Ruby stopped in her thinking for an instant, in her mind she'd always referred to Penny as a friend, but it seemed off, somehow incomplete. _Huh, thoughts for a less dire situation._

Ruby was awoken from her musings by the approach of Clover. She straightened up and took crescent Rose in her hands, she’d been given permission from Clover to hunt after Yang but maybe Pyrrha’s presence here would’ve changed that fact. He was cautious looking at the Scythe held against her shoulder, but he still approached her until he was close enough to whisper conspiratorially to the crimson Huntress.

“You need to go” Clover Whispered. Ruby gave him a look that said she had already informed him that she had no intention of leaving mountain Glenn and wasn’t interested in arguing the point once more.

“but you said- “Ruby began being sure to put more aggression in her words than petulance.

“No no no!” Clover corrected waving his hands in front of his face trying to placate her. “I mean you should leave this camp, The Fall maiden… has been off lately and I’d rather not have anyone other than trained Atlas personel caught in the crossfire.”

Well, that was a pleasant surprise Ruby realized. She nodded to the Atlessian captain. "Captain Clover," Ruby said before she started to walk off, he turned towards her his eyes shifting towards the direction where Pyrrha had walked off. "you're a good man."

That gave him pause but after a second of consideration, he smiled at her, happy for it. Ruby smiled back before turning and heading into Mountain Glenn.

* * *

It hurt Ruby to leave Penny with Pyrrha, but the Atlessian girl knew where to find her reaper, she’d be fine… Ruby hoped. The place was quite the nostalgia trip for Ruby, her first official mission had been here, one of her biggest steps towards becoming a huntress, her team at her back and the long, hard, exhausting work behind it had been more than gratifying.

Ruby stifled those nostalgic thoughts before they clouded her thinking or worse set off another panic attack regarding worse memories.

_Here is not a place to lose it_. She thought, pulling out her scroll and pressing the contact button.

“Blake” she whispered into it. After a few seconds of silence, a green blip appeared on her scrolls. “So, you can hear me, good!”

Another green blip of confirmation came back to Ruby. Blake was silent for this mission, all she’d send Ruby’s way was Green and Red blips, a simple yes and no.

“Booby Traps?” Ruby asked.

Green blip, two of them, meaning many booby traps.

“Could Yang have set them up by herself?” the question hung in the air for a few seconds when finally, a response came.

Red blip.

Ruby let out a sigh, what Weiss had said to her played out in her mind again; Yang’s offer.

_Oh, Dust why is it never easy?_ She asked herself, looking over the sight of her first mission, it felt like poison in her veins.

* * *

**The Stranger**

The Stranger had to hand it to the White-Fang, they could operate well, in a pit like mountain Glenn. They'd moved right into the city under the cover of night and were already establishing bases of operations throughout the desolate wasteland. They lacked for tech but had relied upon coded messages like the hoot of owls or the shriek of cats to alert one another to their locations, movements, and plans. 

If the Stranger was being especially generous, they’d say that the years on the run had done the Vale branch an excellent service, the weak had died and now the strongest and the smartest had remained. They were operating like a well-oiled machine.

The stranger had seen better but at least it was a step in the right direction. They’d attacked a few Atlas outposts as they snuck into the city, didn’t leave anyone to talk about it, didn’t leave much in the camp either.

_Dust if I hadn’t seen the ears, I would have sworn they were all Vulture-Faunus_. The Stranger chuckled to themselves, glancing at the Fanger’s wearing Atlas armor and wielding Atlas issue pulse rifles, some took the time to spray paint on the White fang logo.

"Why are you putting on the Logo?" The Stranger asked one snake Faunus with scales growing around her chin and forehead. The Snake Faunus was busy spraying on the symbol with a red can of spray paint and a stencil. She gave the Stranger a dirty look.

“You wouldn’t get it Human!” She hissed at him.

The Stranger laughed at that; the white fang always wanted to separate themselves from Humans so much they ignored how similar they were.

“It’s the same as a two-bit gangster tagging a wall, it’s not that complex” The Stranger sat down leaning their head against the crumbling wall. The woman opened her mouth to spit some sort of Venom at the stranger, be it the literal or the metaphorical kind when she froze. A strange clicking noise filled the room.

A noise the stranger recognized well, and a shiver traveled up their spine. The Stranger sat up and turned towards the floating orb hovering in the middle of the ruined apartment building. All the Faunus were inching back from it, instinctively afraid.

“Everyone leave.” It was a command and a few of the Animals turned towards the stranger to speak out, but they saw the stranger’s aura rise and heard the clicking once more and thought better of it. They were gone in a flash, the Stranger considered kneeling but decided **she** wouldn’t care if they knelt or not, **she** was far above them no matter how they stood. “Mistress…”

The darkness in the orb's body swirled and coalesced into a pale white face. **Salem,** **she **was beautiful, her flawless skin only blemished by black pulsing veins around her eyes, those eyes had a strength to them, one that forced you to respect her, and her bone-white hair tied up in a complex series of knotwork with dangling dust shard hanging from its tips. **She **had the same type of beauty that a raging inferno had, that a far-off storm possessed, it was the beauty of promised power and danger.

“**Child tell me of your progress**" **She** spoke softly, finding no need to raise her voice, though her words seemed to be speaking inside the Stranger's head. **She** sounded like **she** was asking how the Stranger's first day of school went.

The Stranger swallowed before speaking. “The fang is on the move; Atlas has no idea. We should be closing in on the target any day now.”

**Salem** was quiet for a while, looking at The Stranger expectantly. **She** was wordlessly prompting them to continue with what **She **really wanted.

“The fang, are still waiting for a key moment to engage the Atlessian forces, waiting for the highest chance of a successful assault with minimal losses,” The Stranger answered. “and with the maximum amount of screen presence.”

_Adam Taurus was very insistent about that._ The bull-Faunus had been rather vocal on that subject And the Stranger speculated that he’d even had a speech prepared. _And I’m sure he’ll make a splash._

“**Excellent, you are already making up for young Cinder’s mistakes**" That sent a shiver down the Stranger's spine, they remembered what happened to the would be fall maiden, how close she'd gotten to success only for The Stranger's own failings to bring about Cinder's downfall. A pit formed in The Stranger's stomach, as they tried to assign who was really to blame here and how much **Salem** really knew and how much **she** was just leaving implied.

_If **she** knew my failing**, she’d** kill me rather than play this game, right?_

“Thank you” was all the Stranger said. The clicking orb started to float away when it paused as if the orb itself had just remembered something. “…yes?”

“**Minimal losses with the White-fang isn't our concern**," **Salem** said simply as if it was a funny anecdote that had sprung into her head. The stranger didn't need a translation. Even though they were now alone in the room they still could feel Grimm eyes upon them.

* * *

**Yang**

When Yang woke up, she was greeted to the sight of blood, spraying from a throat. It was a Faunus man, some sort of simian Faunus judging by the heavy hair on his forearms, and Neo had just run his throat through with _Hush_. Yang was sort of in a Haze as she watched it happen, the small sword was plucked out, he gripped his throat before collapsing to the ground, blood seeping out between his fingers. For a second Yang thought it was a strange dream, she’d had so many odd ones, she thought that until the red flecks hit her face.

_Not a dream! This is real._ Yang decided, scrambling to her feet looking down on the terrorist bleeding out in her camp, before Gazing up at Neo’s giddy face. Yang opened her mouth to speak when Neo help up an open hand.

Yang silenced herself and focused her aura on her nose and ears. She couldn't exactly hear them, but she could smell them, many Faunus had different scents from humans, pheromones and such. Compared to this dry dead smell that was Mountain Glenn their scents stood out like a flashlight in a dark cave.

_The White fang is here?_ Yang turned to Neo raising her eyebrow in question, the little mute girl nodded in affirmative. Yang stooped down and retrieved her katana, and other gear, she turned to Neo and raised a closed fist to her, Neo responded by raising 5 fingers. Neo paused looked down at the dead male in their presence and held up four fingers instead.

_This is not good_. Yang thought but a grumbling turned inside of her, the Grimm wanted out and who’d be a better subject to unleash it upon than the white-Fang. _That could be fun, especially with Neo backing me up._

Yang shook the idea from her, head. She had too much on her plate as it was. _Business before Pleasure. _She chastised herself. _Though After I’m done with Ironwood, maybe a fight with the Fang is just what I need._


	48. Call of the Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang deals with the Fang, Blake finds a peculiar individual and Ruby muses

**Yang**

The White Fang was an odd terrorist group, it could be argued rather well that the Faunus were, in fact, the superior race on Remnant; many could see in the dark, some could fly, breath water and the stranger among them were gifted with even more peculiar abilities. The strongest amongst the fang could go toe to toe with a seasoned huntsman no problem, the weakest were trained in proper hit and run tactics to account for their physical frailty. To top it all off they also had access to semblances and auras. 

And yet they were continuously on the back foot. Yang mused on all these thoughts as she gazed at the 4-man team sweeping through her train-station. Yang had headed further into the metro tunnel keeping her vision locked on the fang as they gutted out her campfire and examined their deceased compatriot, whom Neo had just left where he’d been slain. They carried no flashlights with them, so Yang had been forced to rely on her aura-enhanced sight to see them. In their hands were Atlas issued Pulse rifles, and a few had atlas issued armor on, though none had taken the helmet.

_Maybe that’s why?_ Yang thought to herself stepping silently deeper and deeper into the train tunnel, stooping to pick up a random piece of debris. _Maybe they have too many gifts._

Yang had seen people with exceptional semblances, some would consider her own to be on that level, People with such gifts often ended up relying on them rather than strengthening themselves. Which was why Raven had pushed Yang to the limit in their training and taught her to fight without aura and worse.

_All to kill the Crutch._ Yang mused throwing the rock skittering down the tunnel before taking a few audible sprinting steps after it. She could hear them, moving after her now. She smiled and silenced her feet, stepping into a darkened alcove along the tracks, pressing herself deep into the darkness.

**_You must be like the Grimm somedays._** Raven had told her, for the Grimm are above all things patient. The White fang pursuing her on the other hands, it was almost as if they couldn’t wait to throw themselves into the waiting jaws of death.

Yang saw them come down the tunnel, in a tight formation, weapons held at the ready, trailing after the Rock. She could smell all excitement and pent up rage, with only the tiniest morsel of fear. Yang worried that her routine Fang-fest beatings hadn't reached the newbies' ears if they were this excited about meeting her.

_Let’s rectify that_. Yang thought as she eyed them walk past her hiding spot deeper and deeper into the metro tunnel. There were four of them 2 men, 2 women, the leader an enormous woman had a set of ram's horns jutting out of her helmet and had a collapsible shotgun in her grip. The others had various weapons at their hips and new Atlas pulse rifles in their grips.

Yang focused her vision, sought out with her Grimm sense and could see it; they were uncomfortable with the weapons in their grasp. All except for the Ram woman were busy adjusting their grips and pawing at the handle.

_It’s all recently scavenged._ Yang thought, reaching for the Flashbang on her hip. _And the new rifles have a hell of a kick to them._

On silent feet Yang stepped out of her hidden position, calmly watching the Fang progress down the tunnels. Focusing the Grimm into her voice she took a deep breath before speaking.

“**Didn’t your mothers ever tell you, not to enter the Dragon’s den**" they turned, shocked looks on their faces, Yang made sure they were all looking her way when she let the pins hit the ground and the grenade to roll between them. A flashbang is a useful tool on the battlefield though it's effectiveness can vary based on several factors. If you hit a normal human with a flashbang in daylight they can be disorientated from anywhere from 10 to 15 seconds, you hit them in the dark and they can end up blinded for an even longer time, but you hit a Faunus with one in a dark light setting… well if Yang were 2 years younger she’d be cringing at the very idea of it.

Yang closed her eyes and focused her aura to the protection of her ears. Light bloomed behind her eyelids and a nauseatingly loud noise clawed at her eardrums, threatening to bring bile out of her guts. She moved before she opened her eyes, a dead-on sprint towards where she knew her targets were, keeping her aura focused forward for any of the stray shots they were unleashing in her direction. She could sense their fear, panic and hatred all clumped up together and she used that as a guide as she sprinted. When her eyes finally opened she was greeted with the sight of the Faunus spraying pulse rifle fire wildly in her general direction, there was no rhyme or reason to their aims, one of them had vomited on the ground the other was gripping its animal ears and shouting in pain, the captain was stumbling back her hand resting against the abandoned rail car, the last one was firing wildly vomit on the front of their armor.

Yang launched a thunder-dust round between the group, it exploded as it struck asphalt and they were blasted outward and away from one another, the only one firing flew right towards Yang while the team captain flew far away from her. As the grunt flew at her Yang pulled back her arm and hit the flying Faunus in the neck with a clothesline strike, turning with her strike she flung him into the nearby wall.

_One down._ Yang thought, spreading her aura around her whole body before launching herself at the slowly rising leader. Wrapping her hands around the Ram-Faunus’ horns she jerked the woman’s head lower; The Ram did struggle against the manhandling though she was unable to break out of Yang's grasp in time. Yang grinned as her knee rose and slammed right into the woman's face, cracking her aura and breaking her nose. Letting go of the horn's Yang fell into a crouched position and swept out the Ram's legs from under her. And again, the poor woman’s head smashed against the concrete.

_Definitely a concussion._

The Ram tried to groggily roll away from Yang lifting up her collapsible shotguns pointing them right at the Grimm-masked woman. Yang smacked the gun off-angle just as the trigger was pulled at a wave of buckshot ate through a portion of the one of the remaining grunt's aura, such a pity too; she was just starting to regain her feet. 

The Ram Faunus rolled away from Yang's onslaught this time with a dash more grace, she rolled into a proper firing position and shot towards where Yang had been, her eyes still hadn't adjusted yet since she'd bee force to fire with such a widespread, the buckshot struck Yang pinging off her aura. The Ram drew her other collapsible shotgun and started to take aim.

_Shotgun fight it is them._ Yang thought with a grin, cocking back Ember Celica before launching a shot back at the downed woman, Yang moved and ducked as she fired, taking full advantage of her opponent's weakness of sight, inching closer and closer with each shot whittling away at the large woman's aura. The woman began backing up as her aura started to weaken when Yang launched Ember Celica behind her and flew right at the Ram. She ripped the shotgun from her grasp and slammed the butt of the weapon into the large Fanger's forehead, the Aura cracked further. The woman gave a wordless roar, her hand shooting forward to grip the front of Yang's shirt.

_Well, this is familiar. _Yang thought **Always be looking for weaknesses in you opponents. **_I remember the lessons mother._

Yang gripped the Faunus’ wrist with her left hand before punching out with her right, straight into the woman’s broken nose, and then she did it again and again until it was Yang holding up the Ram buy her wrist. As the aura broke and the body went limp Yang let the unconscious form of the Ram Faunus flop to the floor. The two remaining Faunus had just started to reorganize themselves when Yang turned back to face them. One male and one female both looked at her and though she couldn’t see their eyes behind those masks she could feel both apprehension and fear coursing through them at her grin.

“**You’re in the Dragons den now**," Yang said channeling the Grimm into her words, it elicited the desired effect. "**And since you’re both short on treasure maybe you’d be willing to trade secrets instead**”

It was a gamble but the more frightened they got the more likely they’d be to attract the Grimm here and Yang did need information.

_Like who’s with the fang._ She thought to herself with a curious bitter seed growing inside her, as she retrieved her scroll. _And why they’re playing into my game._

* * *

**Blake**

Blake was back in her element now; keeping to the shadows, scouting the land and tracking a mucky trail. It brought her back to her time with the White Fang before that turned to dirt and this place brought her back to her time with Team RWBY, before that too withered away. Blake leaped from the building's window towards the adjacent building, as she crested across the mid-point and began to dip, she jumped from her shadow copy and landed safely inside. Bending down she pressed her ear to the ground and after a few seconds she heard it; the soft thrumming of activated dust. After a minute of searching, she found the land mine, it had been a while since she'd found one, but she marked it down regardless.

_She’s good at this, she’d have made an excellent member of the Fang._ The thought in Blake’s mind was bitter and corrupted but no less correct. Yang had riddled the cityscape with mines and traps, but the real trick of it was that she’d placed a bunch of traps in one location and no traps in another, but a few sprinkled throughout. She’d wear Atlas out, sometimes they’d search places no traps were and waste time or accidentally stumble into traps since they thought they were in the clear. _Yang’s traps aren’t everywhere all the time, but they could be anywhere at any time._

And if the hacked into Atlas scroll bandwidth was any indication, Yang was doubling back on places already cleared. She was insidious.

_It’s the most efficient booby-trap work I’ve seen since me._ Blake thought, examining the mine. _But it’s still too much for one person._

Yang had a partner in this endeavor Blake was sure of it, there were too many traps for her to have placed them all herself, not unless she'd unlocked a second delicate speed semblance since Blake last saw her.

_And I doubt that very much._ Blake mused heading further and further into the building, marking as many traps as she could. Eventually Blake developed a rhythm, the enter room, listen for traps and mark them, repeat. This devolved into what Blake always feared it would: monotony. The monotony would bring back thoughts of what Weiss had told them and what they could do about it. The doubts and fears and anger would worm into her head and she'd be Grimm-bait. It was such a big problem Blake was glad when the strange smell crept into her nose. She froze, it wasn’t the putrid scent that wafted off of most Grimm, it was subtle and familiar.

Crouching low Blake approached a hole in her floor and peered down, inside was a small force of Faunus, they were in mismatched armor carrying a hodge-podge of weapons. Blake’s eyes widened as she looked down at them, it didn’t take long for her to recognize the clan tags of the Vale branch of the Fang.

_Adam’s branch._ Blake thought with dismay staring at the red claw marks on a snake girl's chest plate, an appropriated Atlas chest protector it seemed. _This is bad._

Yang had thrown them into a powder-keg ready to blow, Atlas was deployed in force to mountain Glenn and hadn’t noticed the White fang sneak in here with them.

_Wait a minute._ Blake thought, slinking back away from the gaping hole in the floor._ If Atlas is deployed in force here, then why are the Fang here while Vale is so vulnerable? Adam’s smarter than that._

Stooping down Blake began removing the warning markers from Yang's many traps. Still, Blake tried to sort the question out.

_Yang has a partner… Adam?_ Blake brushed that idea aside, Adam's disdain for the humans was so extreme that an alliance with Yang seemed out of the question. _He did side with Torchwick 2 years ago though._

Blake climbed up into the wall hangings most shrouded by darkness and took a ready aiming position down a long hallway rife with traps. She heard the hoot of an owl echo through the building and she recognized the code, she helped build. Putting Gambol shroud down she put her hands to her mouth and returned to hoots, telling them to come to her location. It hurt her to do it, but the Fang wasn't her pack anymore, they hadn't been for a long time, Ruby and Weiss were that now…

She readied Gambol shroud down the hallway and let her mind try to break apart the question. Blake made sure a ready escape route was available.

_Why would Adam strike here, where he’s out-gunned when Vale is so exposed?_ The first cautious Faunus took a step up onto the landing searching around for the hooter. Blake gave a soft hoot in return and as he turned towards her, he steps on a land mine and was flung backward and down the hole by the force of the blast.

Blake's brain wracked the question, it had been so long since she'd seen Adam, he could've become a completely different person at that time. _He always loved sending the message, always sending messages…that’s why he’s here and not Vale! Yang brought all eyes to Mountain Glenn._

The commotion downstairs intensified and a few Faunus began crawling out of the hole, some falling almost instantly into Yang’s set up traps, but after the first half dozen got hit, they became wise to the situation. Blake grimaced, wishing she could’ve kept her involvement in this to a minimum.

_But they can’t have the run of this place. _ Blake thought, leveling Gambol Shroud aiming at a nearby mine the scaly girl was nimbly stepping around. Blake hesitated for an instant before firing and setting the mine off with a vicious ripping explosion. _Not while Ruby’s here… and Yang._

Part of her bucked at that justification, she had to admit that some small part of her was doing this as a way to cleanse herself, to separate herself from the white fang at least in the eyes of Atlas. Blake had no care for what Atlas said about her, but she'd rather not spend time in a cell. That made her pause in her firing, the rest of the White fang were starting to figure out her firing location just by the shots she was dealing with their way.

The desire for freedom was a pervasive one and she could sympathize with Yang for a moment. That moment vanished when a shot whizzed by her ear. Rolling away further into the building, daring the remaining fangers to pursue, Blake tried to organize her thoughts.

_I escaped as the Fang went dark, I was trying to be a better person._ Blake slid behind an overturned desk and threw an ice-dust knife right at a large ox Faunus rounding the corner before peppering him with shots from Gambol Shroud. _Yang just leaned into the criminal life._

Standing up she spun Gambol Shroud in an arch slashing the frozen Ox Faunus across the face and buckling him down. She focused her aura to her semblance and manifested a set of shadow arms around her body, each holding onto a new weapon, she waited as more and more Faunus stepped onto Yang’s traps when an odd voice hit her ears, it seemed distorted somehow.

The Stranger, not dressed in the armor of the white fang stepped forward into Blake's sight. They were dressed in heavy Rags covering them like a poncho hiding any discerning features from Blake's gaze, their hooded face was covered by a gas mask and a Grimm mask of their own this one was of an Apathy skull. They had a confident if awkward, gate to their stride.

“You animals done here?” Their warped voice spoke out as they turned the corner to see Blake standing there. They froze as they looked at her, almost seeming to way the options of what to do. “Ummmm…. Hello?”

Blake gave no reply just staring at the tall standing figure, only for them to turn on their heel and run back down the way they came.

_That’s not how this is supposed to go! _Blake thought incredulously, sprinting after her target. Blake was amazed by the distance the Stranger had managed to gain on her when she rounded the corner, they were already down the hall and into the Hole in the floor.

_Speed semblance!_ Blake figured as she watched their head disappear down the hole the rest of the White fang had emerged from. Blake was in hot pursuit and used her semblance to give her a slight speed boost forward, Blake knew that she could ill afford to use that trick again since her semblance had a habit of biting harshly into her aura. _But I have to know who this is!_

The person was human, they had to be; they’d called the rest of the Fang “Animals” and just didn’t have the Faunus scent to them. But they were with the fang, that much was at least apparent. As Blake jumped down the hole she landed silently. As her feet hit the floor her hopes that maybe the Fangers she’d just encountered were just a scouting party, split off from Adam’s group, were utterly crushed. She could hear them, there were murmurs of the menagerie language filtering up from below her and she could smell her former sisters and brothers thick in the building.

_Adam is here in force. _Blake gritted her teeth, still able to hear the strange footsteps of the fleeing stranger, but she’d be a fool to throw herself right into a crowd of well-trained well-armed terrorists.

_Besides._ Blake thought, pulling out her scroll and climbing back up the hole. _Ruby and the rest of them need to be told._

* * *

**Ruby**

**Bang!**

**Bang!**

**Bang!**

Ruby was back in her element, except the birds weren’t singing, she couldn’t hear the wind rustling through the trees and she had too much on her mind.

**Bang!**

**Bang!**

**Bang!**

The perch she'd made for herself was a bit daring, to say the least, but part of her wished to remind the members of Atlas why she was the Reaper here. She adjusted her position atop a construction crane that had long since degraded into disuse and disrepair. For all the things that were different the butt of Crescent Rose pressed against her shoulder was still a warm and comforting feeling.

**Bang! **

**Bang!**

**Bang!**

And its kick was also a great help when it came to keeping her focused. The Grimm in mountain Glenn had always been numerous but these recent incursions had only worsened the situation. Ruby took a deep breath and slapped a new magazine into her baby before chambering a round. So far, she’d spotted neither hide nor hair of Yang.

Her cheek pressed against the cool metal of Crescent Rose as her mind drifted to what Weiss had told them. She took a deep breath as her mind finally wandered, here with little to do it seemed inevitable that her mind would go back.

_No panic attacks, not now, not here._

* * *

“I need to tell you something, that Yang said she can’t stay here but we could go with her, She wanted team RWBY back together again.”

The air around them seemed to still at Weiss’ words and Ruby’s eyes shifted towards Penny. Ruby hated having to keep pushing Penny away, but the way Weiss was speaking gave Ruby the impression that it would be best discussed alone as a team. Penny merely smiled at Ruby gave her a thumbs up and a wink before turning on her heel, marching 10 steps away and putting her fingers in her ears.

Ruby would’ve burst out laughing if she didn’t understand how serious Penny was about the action. It looked like a damn pantomime, it also had the side effect of making Ruby smile, and she needed it.

Turning back to Weiss who had a confused look on her face, clearly far more confounded by Penny’s antics than Ruby was.

"Go on Weiss," Ruby said. Weiss gave her a confused look in response.

“You sure?” Weiss glanced back over to Penny. “Penny’s right there”

Weiss thumbed towards the robot girl for emphasis, Ruby waved it away.

"She's not listening" Blake opened her mouth to join the conversation when Ruby shook her head denying whatever it was Blake was about to interject with. "That's not how Penny is" Ruby took a deep breath preparing for the plunge. "What did Yang say, Weiss?"

Weiss gave Penny one last glance. “She wanted us to go with her…”

Blake’s eyes widened her pupils turning to pinpricks, there was a catch in Ruby’s breathing, and she could feel her heart-stopping for a split second. This was good and bad, it was confusing, but it was hope, but hope was poisonous. Blake’s stance widened as her focused eyes were darting around as if she expected some sort of attack. But as Ruby followed her gaze, she could see that she was looking at each and every member of the Atlas military in turn, and some were glaring back at the Faunus.

_Blake’s past is out there._ Ruby thought, seeing the looks her teammate was receiving for a past she'd tried desperately to wash herself clean of. _But it isn’t just Blake._

Weiss was getting just as harsh looks from her fellow countrymen, they looked at her like she was a traitor like she was guilty of every crime they pinned on Yang. Ruby pulled up her hood and tried to slow her breathing, she knew what that look was like, she'd known it for 2 years. The students at Beacon, her classmates, had treated her like so much garbage since then, they’d isolated her and her team, they’d called her a fool and called her sister a psycho. They’d taken Ruby’s dream, of going to Beacon to become a huntress and poisoned it. Where she first thought she found like-minded people seeking to help the little guy now she only saw the people who’d isolated her and would’ve been happy if she went ‘missing’ on a mission one day.

_Just like mom… just like Yang._ Ruby thought she'd see Yang again but instead she saw scattering Petals floating on the breeze. The floral remnants flipped and twist on a wind that wasn't blowing, one-half red the other snow white, moving and cartwheeling in the air. The Yang panic attacks always brought blood and Grimm things to her mind but remembering mom was always like this, it was a calmer feeling that brought clarity. Summer Rose, the woman whose standards all Huntsmen and Huntresses were measured against. These past 2 years the Huntsmen and huntresses of Beacon had left that standard wanting. _Not just them but me as well._

Ruby was becoming bitter, was letting her miseries get the better of her, as much as her skills were improving, she was forgetting why she wanted to become a huntress in the first place. And so was Yang.

_She’s Summer’s daughter too._ Ruby thought, thinking back to the days Yang had cared for her when their father was too out of it to do so when she'd try her best to fill the gap Summer left and be the best inspiration she could for her little sister. _She’s my sister._

“IT’s our blood that’s red like Roses” Ruby muttered to herself reaching out to catch one of the Petals only for it to vanish in her mind. Weiss seemed to materialize at Ruby’s side, giving her that concerned look she always did when Ruby was about to have a panic attack. Ruby pulled her hood back and gave Weiss a warm smile. “I’m ok”

It was quiet, it was small, but the words had a strength in them, just like Ruby knew she had to find in herself now. Weiss hesitated, squeezing Ruby's shoulder.

"Of course, you are," She said it like she'd believed it. "What's the plan, Ruby?"

"Why the change of heart?" Blake asked, hitching a ride on Ruby's wave of calm. "Yang wasn't exactly pleased to see us last time, she could've offered it to them."

“I…” Weiss began. “clarified a few things for her, I had to knock some sense into her too.”

Blake’s eyebrows rose at that, though it was obvious by the grin on her face she was impressed with Weiss.

"I think Yang prefers harsh truths anyway," Weiss smirked back. "She's still set on her 'mission' however."

"Then we keep with our original plan," Ruby said, glad to have clarity and focus once more. She unfurled Crescent Rose glad to have the weapon's weight properly distributed in her grasp again. "With a few minor adjustments."

In a flurry of rose Petals, she was by Penny's side once again. The Robot girl blinked before beaming at Ruby.

“Penny I need a favor”

* * *

The buzz of her scroll woke Ruby up from her memory and she was sullen once more she her search seemed fruitless. She flipped open her scroll, Blake had texted her twice.

**B:** **The white Fang is here.**

**B: Found white Fang here.**

_Oh, she texted me twice must’ve forgot the cipher._ Ruby thought absently, slowly lowering her scroll. _What is the Fang doing… wait!_

Ruby lifted the scroll again and saw that Blake was typing.

**B: Didn’t send that!**

**B: I did.**

Ruby's heart pounded in her chest she took a deep Calming breath before her fingers flew across the screen.

**R: Yang?**

**Y: We need to Talk.**

**Author's Note:**

> This AU was originally made by @tovanori on Tumblr and I have their permission to write this. I'm transferring this from FF to her


End file.
